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I am too sad to post anything today; I hope you will all forgive me.  Our family suffered a loss over the weekend and everything I write seems trivial and unimportant:



Max, Marshall, Gram-E and Barclay (the patient one)

Barclay Pyles (the beauty on the far right) passed away last night in his parents’ arms, right where he should have been.  I wish we had a better picture of his adorable face; he was quite a feisty charmer and we all loved him dearly. 

Barclay was the pet of our beloved Gram-E and Mr. Pyles (our third set of “grandparents” who live two houses away from us).  I remember seeing him out walking with Gram-E (or Elinor as the adults call her) when we were first looking to buy this house in 2004.  I knew it was a sign when the house I loved the most was steps away from a Bichon like Barclay (my parents have two Bichons, one of which had been mine until college; and of course we now have Marshall and Max).  We have all watched Barclay and his parents walk our neighborhood twice a day for the last seven years and it doesn’t seem possible that I won’t see him again this afternoon, bouncing along with his tail held high and his pink tongue happily panting.

Thank you, Barclay, for everything you gave to our family and especially to your family down the street.  Today I hugged Marshall and Max the second I saw them and I’ve given them more attention than they are used to.  And this was your last unselfish gift to me; helping me to appreciate everything I have until the very end.

We love you!

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Editor's Note:  Minutes after reading this post, Will sent me the following email about Barclay that I had to share -

"We’re all very sad, for sure.  I’ll always think of his especially soft fur, his unique howl and his tireless efforts to get Marshall and Max to play in the backyard.  It will be very strange not to see him passing our windows… before we got Marshall and Max, you’ll remember it was quite an event to see him.  I’d say he reached celebrity status in our house.   And there is no other dog that Marshall and Max encounter on their walks and perk up with anticipation to visit."

Will says the right thing.  Always.