Our Boy Andy - The Best Dog Ever!
On January 16, 2023, we made the difficult decision to put our boy Andy to sleep. He was 14 years, 8 months, and 21 days old, and we couldn’t have dreamed of a better dog. He was a dark red Golden Retriever who loved his people, loved to go for rides in the truck, and would do almost anything for a bite of human food. He was our traveling buddy. He’s summited mountains, been on numerous hiking and camping trips, and was our fun-loving, goofy boy who we will greatly miss.
Even though he was just a dog he inspires me to want to live my best life. Here’s what I mean. First, he consistently loved people freely. It didn’t matter if you were a close family member or a total stranger, he was ready and willing to shower you with love. We often referred to him as our therapy dog. If we were having a good day, he was there to make it better. If we were having a bad day, he was there to boost our spirits. One of my favorite routines happened in the morning. I like to get up early most mornings to drink my coffee, read and spend time journaling and praying. Most of the time he would come sit right at my feet (sometimes on my feet) and go back to sleep while I read. He just wanted to be close to me, I absolutely loved it, and I will definitely miss our mornings together.
Second, he loved to go on adventures. As long as I can remember he loved to travel. If he thought we were going somewhere he would pick up his collar and leash and sit by the door until it was time to go. If he was outside, he would sit by the truck door until we loaded him up. Then, once we were on the road he would sit and stare out the window for miles. I don’t think it mattered where we were going, he just loved traveling with his people. One of my favorite trips with him included summiting Wheeler Peak in Taos, NM which was over 13K feet in elevation. This was no easy hike, but he handled it like a champ. One of our favorite pictures of him (included in the post) was on this hike with him standing in a grove of pine trees looking like a mountain dog off of the cover of a doggy REI magazine. He looked epic!
Third, he brought so much joy to people’s lives. What I mean by that is he contributed as much or more to our relationship as we did. He was fun to be around, he never brought stress of any kind to our lives, and he had his quirky routines that always brought a smile to our face. He rarely barked so on the occasion he did you knew something exciting was happening. We would wrestle with him to get him riled up and you could see it building inside him and suddenly he would let one long, raspy bark that would always bring a laugh. Then there were the times he would see his reflection in the glass on the front door and didn’t know what to do with this dog staring back at him and would let out a single bark. He was so goofy, and he was the worst hunter. We often referred to him as “just a Golden” because he wouldn’t retrieve anything. Occasionally, you’d see him in full hunting mode slinking low to the ground across the back lawn about to pounce on his prey only to realize five minutes later it was a leaf blowing around along the back fence or that his prey had eluded him. Rabbits and squirls were safe on our property. He was a funny pup and brought so much joy to our family.
I wanted to write this post to share some stories and pictures of our pup Andy. But I also wanted to pass on some of the inspiration that I received from him and issue a challenge for all of us. First, let’s give love freely. It doesn’t matter who it is, everyone could use a little extra love in their lives. Use your words to encourage, be kind, and lift someone up. Let’s quit thinking about whether they deserve it or not and just love people freely. We need to be intentional about it too. Start small, set reminders, and look for opportunities. You’ll be amazed at how giving love blesses us as much as it does the recipient. Second, go on an adventure. I understand this is going to look different for everyone. The main objective is to break out of your routine and do something different. Go on a hike, take a road trip, or take that family vacation you’ve been meaning to take for years. There’s a quote that says, “It’s impossible, said pride. It’s risky, said experience. It’s pointless, said reason. Give it a try, said the heart.” No more excuses, take the first step and just do it. You won’t regret it. Go make some memories. Third, bring joy to people’s lives. Contribute as much or more to your relationships as the other person, be the type of person people love to be around, and don’t be the person who brings stress to the group. I completely understand that stuff happens and sometimes we need to talk things out with a friend, but let’s get it talked out and get to living. You don’t have to be the life of the party but you can bring life to the party. In our world today, people need joy. Let’s be the ones who bring it to everyone we come in contact with. It doesn’t cost us anything and a little bit goes a long way.
With Andy being almost 15 human years old when he passed, we’ve been told numerous times that he lived a long, full, life, especially for a Golden. I would like to add that he not only lived those in days and years but also in experiences. He lived life! That’s how I want to be. I want to live every day including my final day to its fullest. I want to wring every ounce of life out of my time here racking up as many memories as possible. I want to love freely and bring joy to everyone I cross paths with. As with Andy, if I can live in such a way that my life inspires others to live, mission accomplished!