our Coalie.

We said goodbye to our family dog today. My parents dog actually, now that we're all grown up and 3/4 of us have moved out. They bought her for us kids when I was 10. I remember the day we brought her home and one of us thought we should name her "Coalie" because she "looked like a lump of coal." I get a kick out of that now.

I guess Coalie's best known for her ball chasing skills. She was pretty serious about that game. Also known for her harsh greetings toward everyone who ever walked in the front door. She was half poodle, half schnauzer...anyone ever heard a schnauzer bark??? I can't say I'm going to miss it (the barking), but she always warmed up and made friends.

I won't go into detail on all her infirmities (when dogs get sick it's somewhat gross) but she's been suffering for many months now and it's only become worse over the last weeks even more since yesterday. My parents of course would rather see her go peacefully than watch her suffer any more. We'll miss the Woofy-Dog. She was a good old pal and I'm sad to see her go. The end.