Last day with Brandi

On Monday, when the kids went to school I took the day off and told my wife I was taking Brandi to be "put down." We've been talking about it for the past few months when Brandi started showing signs of difficulty in walking, running, hearing, seeing and eating. It was one of those things I couldn't dwell on but felt like I had to do. I helped her into the truck, posed for the photo and took her to the park for one last play date. I sat on a bench while she repeated a few cycles of trotting 20 or so yards, sniffing a little and so on. She had been losing her sight so she wouldn't go far without making sure I was still nearby. The park was empty so I tried to find some peace in the moment, thinking about the 14 years we'd been together. When my wife became pregnant with our first child, she suggested I get a dog to keep me company. So I looked everywhere for the perfect one. I found Brandi in Tennessee and had her shipped here. My three sons saw her as the oldest in the family and they were respectful of her, mostly because they could see how much I enjoyed her. I told my wife I didn't think the boys would notice she was gone because it seemed I was always asking if anyone fed or walked her. At the animal shelter, I was strong until the officer asked if I wanted to be with her while they euthanized her. I pulled off the leash and collar and asked the officer to take her and I immediately walked to the truck, sat in the cab for a few minutes then drove home. That night, my youngest son, Duke (9) walked in at 9:30 and said Brandi wasn't in her bed. I told him not to worry about it. Cole (11) went outside with Duke and a flashlight. They came back in and asked if they could go to the school and look because it was the most likely place she'd go. Mitchel (13) said, "She probably ran away" (Mitchel's at the age where he's tired of putting up with everything.) Finally, I called everyone together and said we had to talk. I told them the story and everyone fell apart, especially Mitchel. He felt guilty for having thought such a thing about a pet that had been with him the longest and become such a good friend. The occasion, has had an impact on his life, at least for the past week. I'm one that knows the difference between kids and pets, but Brandi sure played an importan role in our family. Her life and death has helped us grow.

This weekend, my 11-year old son and I rode motorcycles across the salt flats (180 miles round trip) to Wendover and back. It was great fun. We started Friday morning at Dell, Utah about 20 miles west of Tooele. There were about 75 riders who drove 4-wheelers and motorcycles. We rode over a mountain range to Knolls recreational area where we refueled and ate lunch. Then we left Knolls and rode about 20 miles on the salt flats. It's a unique feeling riding at speeds of 70 to 90 miles per hour on a flat surface as far as they eye can see. For several miles we passed vehicles on I-80 that were traveling in the same direction; that's how I figured our speed. Eventually, the feel of the ride changed. I looked down to see if I had a flat. Instead I could see I was gliding on mud. I quickly directed my bike to the highway for solid ground. Other motorcycle riders did the same. The 4-wheelers kept going. And so did my son. When he looked back and couldn't see us he stopped and sank (once you stop you can't ride out of the pasty muck. We rode along the side of the rode, got off my bike and walked a few 100 yards to where he was spinning his tires and digging in deeper. After an hour we got him out, onto the road and rode until we found some dryer salt. We all stopped for a group photo at the metal tree (30 miles outside of Wendover). Once we arrived in Wendover, two police cars escorted us to the Nugget Hotel where we slept and started the ride home on Saturday.

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I'm Shep -- just your typical middle-aged, white male. I'm enrolled in a tech class and playing with this site.