The Quiet House.....

We have went through an amazing streak so far this spring..nary a game rained out....which in part makes up for the games and scrimmages I had to give up early, after the Carotid Artery surgery, just over 4 weeks ago.  In fact the surgery was a month ago, on March 16th, my 63rd birthday.  Since then, the health has improved, the voice has improved, but a long way to go still remains....a month after surgery, I still have some issues....however, I believe some, if not most of those, are due to the prescription meds that I am now consuming on a daily basis....and I don't like it...however, I will stay the course, for now.

Speaking of rains and games....

Rather than the usual double header on Saturday at Noon time, my game was a single, pushed back to 2pm due to the schools and state having ACT/SAT tests on Saturday morning.....

Rain hung around the area, and after getting the game started near the 2pm starting time, we made it to the fifth inning...Crestview on top 4-0 over visiting Ottoville, we stopped play, and finally called it quits about a half hour later.  It was considered a complete game, so the seasons personal record, for me, remains intact.  More rain this morning, but not sure it will be enough to cancel the game at Lincolnview...Garry and I are schedule for a NWC league game there tonight vs Ada....the sun has come out, and a the wind has picked up, possibly giving the fields time to dry...we will see.

Reagan the Airedale 1998-2012

As I headed home from Convoy late Saturday afternoon, my thoughts turned to our old Airedale, Reagan the Roo....the latest in a long line of Airedales that Patricia and I had raised since even before we were married.  Rags was our first purebred Airedale{our family had one that was a mixed Airedale back in the 1960s}, we purchased her just after Christmas on December 27, 1975....we have had at least one, usually more, for the past 36+ years.

Reagan, approaching 14 years old, ancient by Airedale Terrier standards, had slowed down over the past year or two, and frankly, as I have blogged here, I knew her days were numbered...she had went down hill in a swift manner over the past week, and my only question was, would she pass on her own, or would we have to take matters on our own....I always hope for the former, most of our dogs, when it is time, have went quietly and seemingly without pain, on their own.

When I got home, Patricia said Reagan was not doing well, laying on carpets in the back "mud rood" as we called it....Hal and Lisa's dogs, visiting us for the week, had done their best to ignore the sleeping larger dog, and she barley knew they were around....

Patricia had to get some items, and left for the stores....I walked into the back room, where Reagan was having labored breathing...I patted her, said a few words, and she took one last deep breath, I touched her head, she took a small jump with her head....and stopped breathing.  

Our oldest Airedale, 13 years 9 months, and 8 days, had passed away.  That was Saturday...Patricia went out and purchased new throw rugs to go across the living room hard wood floors, we cleaned, rather she cleaned, those floors, and dug a resting spot for Reagan in the area with the flowing Raspberry Bush area of the back yard, a area frequented during here long life, in dog years, often.  

Yesterday Hal, back from a business trip in Denver, brought the grandson "The K-man" with him from Centerville, to pick up their dogs...he took us out to lunch, along with Anissa, at "CJs" as payment for watching the pups....when they had left, I settled down and watched the Philadelphia Flyers take a 3/0 lead in the best of 7 Stanley Cup opener over hated Pittsburgh and the Prima Donna Penguins....the house, even the cat noticed, was empty and quiet.

The Quiet House____

The cat, probably 12 years old herself, is never underfoot...and she and Reagan managed to live pretty much ignoring each other over the years....on occasion in her younger years, Reagan would engage her{Airedales and cats are notorious enemies}...but they lived in the same house without major conflict.  Now the cat, almost never underfoot, managed to get herself stepped on, not once, but twice...once by Patricia and then later by me...seems she realized that the house was going to be pretty empty, without the 75 pound Airedale no longer around,  she will be stuck with only humans around to interact with...

I really noticed early this morning, with Patrica headed back to work...just how empty the place would be without Reagan.  Even though without her being that active over the past several months, she was still around, and needed to be tended to....

I found myself heading to the back door to let her out....before catching myself, realizing that there would be no more need for that....the cat has her 'sand box' in the basement, and never ventures outside.  No there will be no more need to get up at 3am to let the old Airedale out, because, like me, she could no longer make it an entire night without needing to relieve herself...those days are gone, now my only excuse for getting up in the middle of the night, will be to relieve myself.

We settle now for having no Airedales in the house or yard for first time in over 35 years...and for now, we will go dog less....the cat, being an indoor one, will probably live another handful or more years.  Will we get another dog?  Perhaps, will it be another Airedale?  Perhaps...but for now, we have no plans to do that...we will go on without a dog....Airedale, Mutt, or Other.

The Quiet House however, will take some time to get used to.....

Good Bye Reagan...Rest in Peace:   Born July 6, 1998  Died April 14, 2012

back later>>>>

Photos-Reagan through the years.....