Old Ashleigh was my good old golden retreiver. He's been gone many years
now and it's taken me this long to talk about him. When he was about
three, I had a day care business after school. Ashleigh was everybody's
favorite, because even my two year old could make him mind. She would
say "Ashy see down" and point her little finger up in the air and Ashy
would "see down". The only thing I couldn't do with him around the
children was play ball with him. He wanted that ball so badly, he would
run over a kid to get it. My father in law moved in with us after a
stroke. He was paralized on one side and in a wheel chair. Ashleigh
loved him and somehow knew he had to be gentle. Pop would get the ball
and tease Ashleigh with it. I thought for sure that dog would go after
that ball and topple Pop over. Never happened. He would just wait until
Pop threw it and then bring it back and place the ball gently on Pop's
lap. We were living in San Diego then. Ashleigh and I joined a
dog/people square dancing club. That was great fun! Ever after if I
needed a dancing partner, he was ready. After Pop died we moved to
Puerto Rico. Ashleigh never had a ball after that. He kept losing them
in the under brush. Never fear, there were lots of litte coconuts. They
worked. From there we moved to North Carolina and pine cones were the
preferred "round thing" from there to New Mexico where rocks and sticks
worked just fine. We tried to give him a ball in New Mexico, but we
lived on the side of a little stream and he kept dropping it in and
watching it float away. Fom Puerto Rico on we had horses and he loved to
go with us. At close to the end of his life, when he was old and tired.
I tried to make him stay home, but he would have none of it. He would
sneak after the horses and I would have to go pick him up in the jeep. I
just put up with it though because one time when I was on my way back
from riding miles and met up with him all exhausted after going blocks,
a rabbit crossed his path and he tried to chase it. He was so happy on
the trail. He died following the horses. I can't help but think that is
how he wanted to go. We buried him by his beloved stream with all his
rocks and sticks. Good dog Ashleigh. You were one in a million.