A good dog never dies
she always stays
she walks beside you
on crisp autumn days
when frost is on the fields
and winter's drawing near
her head is within our hand
in her old way.

-- Mary Carolyn Davies

Donations have been made to
Airedale Rescue in memory of . . .

. . . WALDO, who crossed The Rainbow Bridge on March 18, 2005 and is mourned by Rita Ferrer, who writes:

My King of Hearts

Waldo passed over The Rainbow Bridge today. He is AIRESNAPPING, grabbing treats, highjumping, and humping to his heart's content. He left me suddenly and unexpectedly. He ate a hearty breakfast, jumped on me when I left for work and was in fine spirits. Sometime in the morning, he had a massive bleed in his abdomen, probably a tumor on his spleen. When I came home for lunch, he was breathing very heavily and unable to stand. We went to the vet and helped him find his way to breathing easy over that Bridge.

When Waldo was found in a shelter in Ohio, it was his second experience with Airedale rescue. Luckily, Barbara Mann rescued him and after eye surgery and some R&R with Lynda Dziedzic, he came to me. It was love at first sight. There was nothing anyone could say to discourage me about his "special needs". He was five years old then and he celebrated his 12th birthday in January. He was my precious boy for seven short years.

Over time, he learned to welcome many foster cousins into his pack, but Waldo told them all that HIS bones and HIS food and HIS treats were not to be tampered with. Waldo loved to dress up. He had a full wardrobe of headgear: bunny ears, antlers, devil horns, santa hat, mouse ears, sports caps and lots of bandanas. He was a hambone!

Waldo's best talent was his AIRESNAPS. He had a different style of SNAP for many occasions: I'm Happy to See You, Time to Eat, Get Away from my Bone, Let me Outside. He was also very proficient at COUNTERSURFING. The first surprising victim of this skill was a whole cantaloupe which he grabbed from the back of the counter and managed to bring into the dining room on the rug to eat with great gusto. Melon pieces became his favorite treat.

Waldo taught me to love the Airedale breed especially for their rascally tricks and sense of humor. He got me involved with ATRA (and then on to Wire Fox Terrier Rescue) and added a whole new dimension to my life. His unending love and high jinks have kept my life in balance. Waldo will be in my heart forever.

. . . ROSIE, who crossed The Rainbow Bridge on 5 August 2005, and is mourned by Shelley DeMerchant, who writes:

On Friday, August 5, I held my darling Rosie in my arms and uttered my parting words: "Leave this world with love", as she was humanely euthanized. She was 13 years old, had been in really good health but had a stroke early Friday morning and I wouldn't let her suffer. She told me it was her time to leave me.

Rosie was Silvervalley's Wildwood Rose, OVC, CGC. She's left quite a legacy and has touched more hearts than can ever be imagined.

She (and several of my other Airedales) were featured in the 1999 Best Friends Airedale Calendar. She and her daughter, Maggie, were pictured in the 2002 Airedale Browntrout Calendar. Rosie is the Best Friend's Airedale worldwide greeting card dog and can be seen HERE.

Rosie was a working therapy dog for ten years and she & I were standby as backup for TDI dogs that were doing therapy with the families of the victims & recovery workers after the 911 bombings in New York. She was a mother & grandmother. She'd been spayed for many years, but helped raise & socialize her daughter's (Maggie's & Sindee's) litters. She passed her wonderful temperament, stoicism & tenacity to her sons, daughters & grandchildren - most of whom never saw and will never see the inside of a show ring - but instead they're doing what I believe really matters the most and that is being loving family pets who are, in return, loved & adored by their humans. Many of Rosie's offspring have followed in her pawprints with therapy dog work and/or excelled in the obedience, flyball & agility rings.

I consider myself honoured & blessed to have had Rosie in my life. She was one of those special ones and she taught me a lot. She was my friend and I know that, at the end, I was the best friend I could be . . . for Rosie.

Rosie is buried under a maple tree in my yard. My friends (two- & four-leggeds) have been a Godsend and my boyfriend has been my rock of support. We've all shed a lot of tears here in the past two weeks, but I know we will get thru this and like the saying goes - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

. . . KATIE, who crossed The Rainbow Bridge very suddenly on 15 December 2005, and is mourned by Christie & Denys Hansen

Katie can be seen on the following pages:

MISHA (@RB). APRIL (@RB), CARI & RICO'S FRIENDS, CANINE & CYBER, H
HOWLIDAY CARDS 1997 - Page 3
HOWLIDAY CARDS 1998 - Page 4
HOWLIDAY CARDS 1999 - Page 9

. . . MAXINE, who crossed The Rainbow Bridge in March 2006, and is mourned by Rosemary & Montgomery Quinn, who write:

A light that shone at home, now shines in the sky.

GO TO
AIREDALES IN MEMORIAM, PAGE 16