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We lost Ruby this morning. 

Thankfully she went peacefully in her sleep.  I was blessed and privileged to be part of her life and to have the honor to hunt with her for 12 years.

Her abilities as a hunting companion were without compare.  She knew what I wanted before I did.  Great nose, great style, great personality.  We had so many great hunts for pheasant, grouse, quail, and woodcock, in so many states over the years.  I’m going to miss her curling up next to me after those hunts, head on my leg, eyes asking when we were going to go again.

She was always a people pleaser and she wanted nothing more than to be near her family.   She gave her love unconditionally and was the nicest dog you’d ever meet.  She was forever patient with puppies but once she put her collar on she was all business.

As she got older she spent a lot of time in the water at our lake, “fishing.”  I’d like to think she finally caught her first fish in the wee hours this morning.

My son and I buried her by a tree on a friend’s land we hunted every opening day since she was a pup, wrapped in my hunting vest with the feather from her first grouse find tucked under her collar.  She can keep a steady eye on us from there.  We struggled with keeping the collar or leaving it with her, I suppose I see it as part of her identity and so we left it with her.

She never liked thunder, but loved the sound of a shotgun – I never figured that out.  Last night I lay in bed and said a small prayer, asking for some sign that she was on the next step in her journey.  As if on cue, the rain started to softly fall and we had a gentle thunderclap in the distance.   The thunder abated and the it rained quietly most of the night.

Some day I will catch up with her and she’ll be waiting there for me, on point, with a bird or two pinned down.

She is, and will always be, my best friend.

I love you Ruby.