Dogster

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Ringo's in Doggie Heaven

4 years already

Today I got some gifts on my page from two cattle dog friends' families- thank you George and Redford! I would have been 15 today- really not amazingly old for a cattle dog...if only the durn spleen wouldn't have given out.
I know my family thinks of me often- how can they not? They've got my arch nemesis, Levi, to look at every day! They've also got Roper, who daddy got hoping he'd be like me. Well, he's not, but some things about him are better than me and some major things are worse ;)And of course little Juna- she actually looks the most like me but in miniature. She has really warmed up to daddy- he treats her like a princess!
I sure started a trend in my family- they love cattle dogs. And I know George and Redford's families understand that. Seems that cattle dog owners are a lot like cattle dogs...and that's a good thing :)
The party for my woofday will be going on all day here- I've got lots of family and friends to play and eat with here at the Bridge. I hear there will even be some sheep to chase later, but maybe Cali was just teasing me about that...

My favorite forum entry

I hope this one posts- this was posted by another cattle dog named Ringo, right around the time I went to the bridge. It still makes mama cry:

a man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.
As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," he answered.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Last Day

I have not been feeling well for a long time, and Mom and Dad finally figured it out. I've been having accidents in the house and spending most of my days sleeping and hiding- they thought I was just getting older and tired of Levi. The doctor took an x-ray and found a huge tumor on my spleen. Mom works at the vet hospital and knows I would have had a long road ahead of me, so she and Dad decided to let me go peacefully. I'm happy to be out of pain and I heard there's a big pile of tennis balls and a cloud bed where I'm going...