Our pets are very much part of the family and this year we lost three of them. Early in the year our sweet 16 year old poodle Bobbie's time ran out. She belonged to my mom and survived my mom by 5 years. A few months later we learned that our gorgeous big boy, Robbie had Lymphoma and after 2 surgeries and much love we had to say goodbye to him as well. Then in early October our 11 year old cat went outside and never came back. A brutal year and our pet cemetery grew sadly larger.

We were left with Our funny little poodle Jordi and a sad, uncharacteristically quiet house.
I have always had a big dog to go for walks in the woods and could not bare that void so I found Walter, (photo with David at the top) He joined us in July at 5 months of age. A Leonberger (mom) and Caucasian shepherd dog X Pyrenees cross. He is now 8 months old and a truly gentle giant. We recently adopted a year and a half old kitty, Annie. Life moves on.
So raise a glass to those who went before and those who remain.