Kokanee

A lifetime ago, when I lived in Calgary, there was a guy a few doors up with a husky. We'd often see him roller blading down the road with his four-legged friend running alongside in high gear. Kokanee was this blue-eyed gal's name. He'd named her for the beer that could be found in every bar and beer store from Manitoba west. I thought it was kind of a cool name and tucked it away, deep inside my brain. A few years later and living in Oshawa, our best friend Chimo shared ten rambunctious golden retriever pups with us. Paul and I kept two - the bear-sized tail-wagger, Waylon and the cutest little fluffball you could ever imagine, Kokanee.  She also answered to Puff...when the mood struck.

Puff wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. If you asked for a paw, a horrified look came over her and she sat, eyes wide, not really believing that you would ask such a thing. She was the last to come when called and was generally in her own little world...where the sky was always blue. But you know what? She was the only one of the bunch who could open the screen door to let herself out. Or in. Maybe there was more going on in that pea brain of hers than we thought. A grand act, it was.

Last week, we said good-bye to our ole girl Puff. She was two weeks shy of her fifteenth birthday and just couldn't do it anymore. We laid her to rest out back with her mum, Chimo, her big brother Waylon, her little brother Willie and her pesky little sister, Sandy. Finally together again, I bet they're having the finest game of tag up there.

Love you, Puff