Bear -

I wish I had done more for you and with you.
But, you know, we did a lot and had a good time.
  
They say that happiness is measured in moments. 
There were a lot of moments in 14 years.

• The conformation classes where you trained me to go around the ring. But my legs weren't long enough. Bill Raysor's were. Thank you, Bill, for the memories.

• How you loved playing with water - from the hose, from the stream, from the ocean.

• When your OFA Certificate arrived - I was looking so hard for "Good" that I couldn't see "Excellent."

• The friends you made at the Cow Palace that recognized you at the Del Valle show.

• Some of your antics in the obedience ring - you were so full of yourself.

• You "cheering" for your favorite girls in their classes.

• The surprise when I opened the German Shepherd Quarterly at the '87 National to seven pictures of you the first time you saw sheep.

• Herding training - 110 miles each way on Wednesday night. Later Tuesday and Thursday mornings with ducks behind Stanford Stadium. I told my boss I had biofeedback sessions at Stanford University.

• The show photos that I opened with Joan Ludwig's note: "Beautiful Head".

• You with antlers and a red nose posing for a whole roll of Rudolph pictures.

• One-quarter of the poppy seed cake missing on the morning of the Temperament Test.

• My excitement when you got a 4-point Major Reserve at the Diablo Specialty with me handling.

• The Oregon specialty where we were first in the ring in a class of 13. I got my foot caught in a ring standard and fell flat. It only knocked the wind out of me, but it could have made America's Funniest Home Videos.

• Your first Major with Bill; your finishing Major with Don Kille; Second in Veterans at the National; Fourth in Group at Del Monte and all the people we knew that congratulated us - our friends from Agility even gave us a video of your win; your last time in the ring at the Diablo show's Parade of Champions.

• Your mom almost beat Racketeer; you almost beat Georgio Armani.

• The pride I felt when I got my Breeder's pin and Champion pin, and the dual award plaque at the National.

• Evaluating your puppies - 60 or so; at least three were OFA Excellent.

• Whenever someone opened a car door to leave, you got into the back seat and settled down expecting a ride.

• At my dog camp (Canine Camp of the Redwoods) while loading up the Suburban to go to a tracking exercise, when they realized there was an extra dog, you left and sauntered across the field to me. I found out later what happened. It was your car - I guess you assumed you could go.

• How you loved the sound of the dinosaur squeakers. You seemed so disappointed when the sound went away. Was it five years you had your dinosaurs? I stocked them in the hope chest. When you looked sad, I got a new one for you.

• GSDCA Training Achievement Sire and the GSDCA Thirteen Club.

And then one day, your great heart just stopped beating. You died peacefully at home and there you remain. I have your semen stored. When it's time, I will keep one of your sons. And I hope he loves life as much as his father did.