Goodbye, Spirit, and Thank You!

Two weeks ago on Friday we had to say goodbye to our beautiful big dog, Spirit, and of course the whole household is still very sad; the other dogs walk around on tiptoes it seems, and it is rather quiet. Spirit got sicker and sicker, lost even more weight and we had to forcefeed her vitamins and what ever she could keep in her tummy, which wasn't very much any more. We made a sling to carry her outside, so she could do her business, because her legs wouldn't carry her anymore. The blood tests suggested tumors and she was having a really hard time on her last day so we decided to call the vet. She tried so hard to be a pleasing and friendly dog, up to the very end, and we have only the most wonderful memories... Of course, life goes on and we have to look for another dog to protect the property, as the boys, although they have good potential (doberman/shepherd mix and ridgeback/pitbull/anything mix) may or may not do their job properly and bring toys instead... We went to look at some puppies last week, the father is a Norwegian Elk Hound mix and the mother a Ridgeback mix, but we have to see them again when they are a bit older, currently they are only 3 weeks old and hardly have their eyes open. We will keep you up to date on what is happening on the Whistling Ducks Farm (which has only two more ducks after we gave most away to the Monastery Retreat Center).