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Friday, November 2, 2007

Cappy


I guess this is the only way dogs get obituaries. Our paper is so full of ones about people, there's not much room for news. Most of them are boring, but at my age, it's a good idea to check them out.
Well, Cappy napped out a couple of days ago. He was 14, more or less, and was the happiest dog we ever had. He was so friendly to man and beast, June said he could have been an insurance salesman. She found him rummaging for garbage and wandering the streets of downtown Tampa when he was a youngster. She brought him home, so dirty and encrusted with sandspurs he had to be shaved to get a bath. That was OK with him, but so were meals, shots, car rides, the vet's office, sleeping on the sofa, escaping, it was all good. He particularly liked soft leather such as boot tongues, topsider laces, and suspender loops. Paper products were good, including library books and money. He once ate, and returned, $21.00 in small bills, which I soaked, dried, taped together and redeemed at the bank.
He started slowing down a couple of weeks ago, and Anita and Buddy and I just slowed down our morning walk a bit. One day he quit eating, the next day he quit drinking, and then he lay down on the warm bricks of the patio and quit breathing. Buddy sat with him until the end, and when I saw him walking around him in circles, I took his blanket out and wrapped him up and it was over. Cappy, you will never be replaced. We miss you.