ode to gary

Our beloved dog, Gary, was hit and killed by a car recently :( He had been running through his electric fence for the past month. It was so weird... he always wanted to run off and I guess the shock was worth the freedom. We got a knock on the door from an officer that he was dead. The car must have just hit his head. Both of his eyeballs were knocked out and his neck was completely broken. But the rest of his body was fine. We're hoping he died on the spot. Jordan picked him up from in front of the Borculo general store and there we were, digging a hole for him at 11pm. We didn't want to wait until the next day because it was so warm out (60F). We actually woke up the girls to see him one last time. They were very out of it, though, and didn't understand. So in the morning, I explained it to them again. They were sad but both agreed that he would be happier in heaven (or 'Kevin' as Ruby's been calling it.... from Home Alone, we think?!). Gary is with 'Doctor Jesus.' Our nieces and nephews are actually more sad about it than our own kids. Charlie has been walking around the house, occasionally calling for Gary and the girls will blurt out, "he's dead!" I feel a little guilty because I've been bugging Jordan to get rid of Gary to someone we know would want him. He was always following me around the house and creating more cleaning jobs for me. There were lots of things that annoyed me about him but I didn't want him to die!

A few days after he died, we were at a wedding rehersal and we were all reminiscing about Gary - it felt like an after-funeral, ham-on-bun, in-the-church-basement kind of gathering! We laughed about all of the things that he ate that he shouldn't have: a bag of chocolate chips and I had to induce vomiting so he wouldn't die (according to the vet), a whole batch of muffins with wrappers, an entire cajun pizza that the guys turned their back on in the garage one time, and then there was a whole platter of chocolate-covered cherries, truffles, and christmas cookies that we left in the basement while our friends were over. We came back down and there he sat on the couch, looking straight ahead, trying to appear innocent. He had eaten all of the goods except for one christmas cookie! We all thought it was hilarious that Gary probably figured he'd be off the hook if he left one cookie because what dog would be able to leave one cookie!

His official registered name was Sir Gary Barkel. We don't know for certain if his name contributed to his very human-like personality. There was this one time that Jordan and I watched him lay down, get comfortable, and cover himself with a blanket by using his teeth to pull it over him. He could also open the front door on his own and he knew how to use the doorbell (you know, in case the door was locked!). He loved my sister's family and about everytime she'd come over, he'd get in her car and sit straight-backed in the back seat pretending he was a human so that she'd take him away!

There were many that were so sad to hear he was gone! Actually, I think there are a lot of people that will miss him more than our own family!

So long, Gare-bear. And since you had such a strong personality, there is no way we'll ever attempt to replace you!

last pictures taken of him on the last day of his life.

Sir Gary Barkel: June 18, 2006 to March 6, 2012