There were no footprints in the dust behind her.

RIP Nessie the Labrador, 1996-2009.

“Old dogs, especially old Labs, are indeed something rare. I don’t mean rare
in that there aren’t many of them - there are. But rare in the sense of,
“What is so rare as a day in June?” Rare as in “remarkable”,
“irreplaceable”, and “precious”.
There is an elegance in age that is a bittersweet potion made up of equal
parts savvy, shrewdness, serenity, and sweetness. They become so much more
in tune with our moods, adjusting theirs to fit ours.
These old dogs, these old friends. There’s a certain sadness, and emptiness
that comes over us as we watch them dream by the hearth, doing the things
again in their musings that they did once in their youth. The paws moving,
the eyes flickering, the flews lifting in a barely audible little woof now
and then.
This is their world now: and don’t feel bad for them. We can only hope for
pleasant dreams and warm hearths when the last of our best days, too, are
but memories.”