Barclay

1/29/96 - 4/20/10 (3:25 PM)
(Joan Tillman & Bob edwards)

     There are not words enough worthy enough to commemorate the life of this quiet, magnificient creature, whose early years and many homes remain a mystery that could not have been pleasant or pretty.  But his final four years far exceeded the expectations of his adopted family on the day when, old and bone-tired, he came to us from Pets Lifeline, poked open the door to our home, flopped down and went to sleep.  Bedraggled, with obvious aches and pains, worn teeth and cataract eyes, this ancient "Yoda" soon blossomed into a quietly comic and still-alpha companion to his "brother," the irrepressible Zachary Baggins, who took him under his protective wing.  We watched in awed delight as, often in a language we could only sense but never truly understand,  they shared with each other the secrets of life and living -- in our house and in the world. 

     With Zack, he travelled to beaches and dog parks and restaurants, scarfed down treats and guarded the castle against all intruders with what must have once been a bark so fearsome that some cretin in his past had him debarked to a two-note croak.  Yet he selflessly provided relentless joy to all he met, hopping stiff-legged with excitement on his walks at each new encounter of yet another "best friend forever."  We always knew his time with us would be short, but as with everything about him he surprised us, fillling far more years than anyone expected with unbelievable wonder and joy and smiles.  As we nutured his life, he powerfully and wonderously enriched and shaped ours. His smell and his essence still fill our world.  He can never be replaced because, in moments that matter and endure and that only a dog can create, he is not really gone.

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