As you know, we’ve been preparing for this time for a little while. Dazzle had a pleasant morning wandering the back yard. We ran some errands. When we came home, she was gone.

Hubby woke up on Saturday morning, September 4, 1993, and knew he had to go to the Live Oak Animal Shelter. Once there, he discovered a bright-eyed golden ball of fur, just six weeks old. He named her Dazzle because of her dazzling fur coat.

She was the dog all the other dogs and cats worshiped. In her younger years, she seemed to find a way to escape the back yard at least once a year — she seemed compelled to do that. There were a couple of times we thought she was gone for good, but we always got her back — sometimes from a veterinary clinic where the person who found her delivered her to and once or twice from Animal Control. Usually, we managed to find her before too long and get her back to the yard.

As her faculties diminished, she did as well as she could and muddled along. A little over a month ago, she developed a bed sore, so we moved her into the house and switched her from dry food to canned food. She seemed to gain a little weight back, and she was more comfortable than being out in the heat (she’d always been an outside dog, but she had good house manners). Sometimes, she just liked to be outside, so I let her stay out while I was cleaning her room, and that seemed to satisfy her most of the time. Since she moved into the house, the kittens have been fascinated with her, and it seems Natasha volunteered to stay near Dazzle as she rested, because I’d frequently find Natasha lying on a rug just outside the bathroom where Dazzle spent her house time

Unlike many dogs, Dazzle didn’t bark unless she had a good reason for doing so. When Dazzle spoke, we listened. She was a good, loyal dog, and we were fortunate to be her people for 18 years. Rest in peace, Dazzle.