Thanks for the Memories Kirby. A tribute to my Second All-Time Favorite Dog

Today is a sad day at the Nalty Household as we had to euthanize out lovable pup Kirby.

It may seem strange to see me call Kirby, our lovable lab/border collie, my second all-time favorite dog; That is until you read about our former pup Alex, the greatest dog in the world.

Our Last Photo with Kirby

Once we put Alex down in November of 2008 we knew it was just a matter of time until it was Kirby’s turn. Despite his aches and pains from 15-1/2 years on this earth (that’s about 105 in dogs years), he continually surprised us by hanging in there always lasting just one more month.

We gained Kirby as a tag-a-long when we adopted my beloved lab Alex. Little did I know that this little afterthought (the dogs were adopted as a pair) would quickly win our hearts with his intelligence and make a place in our home. Kirby and Alex were like peanut butter and jelly. Life-long friends who were made for each other .

I distinctly remember a time when a neighbor had friends over and wanted to see out newly adopted dogs. I was proud of my pure bred black lab with the royal blood lines. Instead I was shocked to watch people gravitate to this funny little dog. It was then that I realized we had something special.

Alex and Kirby play in the yard with the boys

Alex and Kirby go ice skating with the boys

One of Kirby’s traits was that he always had a way of analyzing a situation as he looked at the world with his one ear down. He often was too smart for his own good. If something wasn’t quite right, he would be the first to let you know while Alex would rush head first into what ever was before her.

These two dog friends even had their version of tag-team wrestling. When it came time to retrieve a ball, Alex, being the fastest of the two would race full bore to get the ball with Kirby close behind. She would then return with Kirby barking furiously as he would jump and try and take the ball away. Once they got about 10 feet away from the person throwing the ball, Alex would drop the ball and Kirby would bring it the remaining distance. Silly, but endearing.

Kirby was tougher than he looked. He proved his stamina after he survived a surgery that left one of his front legs paralyzed. We were amazed when several months later he began to regain some control over that leg. Although he never chased Alex with the same furor, it never seemed to bother him much until the last year or so.

Once Alex died Kirby seemed to slow down even more. By this time the years had taken a toll on his body as he lost his hearing and was losing his sight. I’d like to believe that bringing our new black lab Daisy into the house helped Kirby regain a little bit of the life he lost after Alex left. Unfortunately, he recently lost control of his body functions and after he had a seizure today, we knew that his run was over.

Kirby, you’ve given us many loyal, loving years. Thank you for being a great dog.

Kirby