T Jenkins Family

I miss my dog. Memories of our ten and a half years together run through my mind often and so I would like to share them. Tyler brought her home to me when she was only 8 weeks old. She was the cutest little brown dog ever! We had only been married for a little over a year and had just bought a great town home in Cedar City with a fenced back yard. Having a new puppy was fun and a lot of work. I dare say that the first couple of months were more hard than a new born baby. She was soooo full of energy. I would come home from school and she would buzz circles around me. Soon she was chasing a tennis ball like mad and because our yard was so small I found myself using the reflection from my watch for her to chase, back and forth. She would chase it up the fence and then push off of it to get to the other side faster. She went everywhere with us. I would take her running after school and walking through the foothills of Cedar and on the path that led up Cedar Canyon. The first time she went swimming was at Quail Res. outside of St. George. My aunt brought her dog to show Moosie the ropes. Once Moose got out in the open water she just kept going back and forth. She was in heaven and didn't want to come in. Then she figured out that chasing sticks into the water was more fun and so it began, moose was born to chase and swim. The path up Cedar canyon had a canal next to it that we could not keep Moose out of. It had a wide spot that she would run and leap into with her hind legs tucked. We also took her Mountain Biking with us everywhere we went. She loved the bike rides and would drink anything that you could squirt at her from the camel back or the bike bottle. She would take it easy and sniff to her hearts content on the up climbs and run till you thought she would crash on the downs. Don't worry, she would still want to chase the ball when we got home. During the first year in the spring we left her in the back hooked to the tie down cable. When I came home from school I found that she had pulled her head out of her collar, chewed it to shreds and then chewed up all of the new little trees we planted, the wood vine trellis we just installed and pulled up all the flowers I had just planted. I cried my eyes out and called Tyler just sobbing about the condition of the yard. We laugh about it now but at the time I was horrified. that is the most naughty thing I think that she did. She had her puppy moments but when I look back she was a really great dog to teach and train. She learned so fast except she was soo happy and social with anyone that she never seemed too loyal to stay with us when told. Oh well at least it was happy socializing. The first time we took her camping was to the Kendall Kampout. We settled into our tent and put her in with us cause she was house trained and almost one year old. as we started to fall asleep we hear...tinkle tinkle. We jumped up and grabbed a light and stopped the run off with a towel just in time to save our sleeping bags. We totally laugh about that one now. Moose dog loved the Kendall Kamp at Payson Lakes. She was able to rome free and run and jump in the lake at her will. One time we paddled around the little lake in a canoe and she just swam along right by our side with a smile on her face. She went on a bike ride with us from camp and she was running furiously behind us and we rode over a cattle guard and just as we realized what we did she ran over it, stumbling at the end into a brown ball on the road. We were freaked and ran to her expecting the worst and she was up and ready before we could get to her. we checked her out and amazingly she was not broken. whew! that could have been ugly. When she was still tiny, about 10 weeks old ,we put her in the back of Wayne's truck to go up Monroe mountain. Somewhere along the way she fell out and when I noticed I was in a panic and was instantly crying. we started going down to find her and some friends of Tyler's that we had passed earlier were coming back up. they had found her unharmed. she rode in the cab the rest of the way. We had soooooo many adventures with Moose. All I can say if there was water she was in it, if there was a ball she was after it and if there was an adventure she all over it. When Aspen came along we were living in Cottonwood Heights and still going on our daily runs with a baby jogger now. One day a black chow came barreling out of his yard and latched on to Moosies left shoulder. The owner ran out and could not get the dog off. I was screaming and Aspen was in the jogger baffled at the event. the owner finally closed fist punched his dog in the face to get it off. Lucky for us we were two houses away from Willow Creek Pet Center and Moose knew it! She turned and ran strait for the door with no leash or guidance from me. she underwent surgery for the traumatic wound and had a long string of big blue stitches. Moose was also a calming presence in our home. around the house she would just chill. It was comforting to fall asleep to the sound of her breathing at night. She also loved her bed. When it was getting washed she would follow us around the house until it was back in its spot and ready to lay on. tyler usually would be the one to put the cover back it and she would stand by him while he did it and he would hardly have it back on the floor and she would be stepping on to "feel" it out. She was always soo good with the kids. She wouldn't take food out of their hands and she would let them walk her around the yard with the leash. If she was bugged at them she never got mad or snippy, she would just get up and move to a different location. She was such a good, good, good dog. She never got on furniture, never jumped up to counters and never chewed on stuff in the house. We could leave her home for hours and all would be well when we got home. We could leave candy on the couches and coffee tables from the holiday spoils and she would not touch even if she was home alone. She loved Christmas and always new she would get something to open and so she had to have her nose in anything that was being opened hoping it was for her. She would follow me when I would vacuum the house and that meant that she wanted to be vacuumed too. She liked the vacuum hose up and down her back, apparently that feels good when your covered in fur. I was a house mom and she was the house dog. She was with me day in and day out. Our morning hour long walks were so fulfilling and energizing. Moose also loved the snow. A snowball is just a cold tennis ball. She would also chase and bark at the snow shovel which would get old so we would scoop up some snow and dump it on her while she tried to get as much of it in her mouth as possible. While living in Cedar City I had a cross country ski class that I took every year. Yes, Moose came along too. She loved to go with me and bound through the deep mountain snow. So many memories. Moose was happy and energetic through out her chemo treatments. We were lucky to have her so long after we knew about the cancer.
I miss her. I miss her following me to her food bowl every morning. I miss her chasing the spray from the hose and chasing the tennis ball. She could be sound asleep, basking in the sun but if she heard you pick up the chuck-it (ball thrower thing) she would be on all fours instantly. I miss hearing her snore at night. I miss the sound of her collar. I miss her soft ears and stinky breath. Most of all .....I just miss her.