A MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR NELLIE

Mike

At the time that old dog Nellie left us (March 2019), her ashes were delivered in a little wooden box with a slide out bottom. I set it on the hutch and there it stayed for a year and a half, but as we planned for Elderberry Fest at the farm with Nick and Hallie, I decided we should take the opportunity to find a spot to serve as Nellie’s grave. 

So, on Day 1, Mike dug a small hole under the pines on the south bank of the pond. It seemed a fitting location because Nellie loved the pond and would play there for hours, but it’s hard to dig in that clay. We decided it wasn’t necessary to go deep. 

On the afternoon of Day 2, we carried the box of ashes and several candles to the gravesite. Hallie lit the candles. Mike gave a nice eulogy, mentioning what a hardworking hunter Nellie had been, including her unique ability to retrieve two birds at one time, if necessary. She also had a sweet temperament and was a good pet. 

Hallie and Mike

I spoke about her willingness to be my dog, too. She was an intuitive, personable dog. Hallie quietly shed a few tears, remarking that Nellie was just the dog she needed at the time she came to us. Even though Hallie was leaving the nest to find her own world just as Nellie joined us, Nellie and Hallie were always best buddies. 

 I just didn’t know, all these months later, that it would still be so hard to say goodbye. 

Next step: Find a nice marker. KW

“NO FEAR NELLIE” 2003-2019

We hoped for a definitive sign so that we wouldn’t have to make the decision. It didn’t happen. Today, by pre-arrangement, we said good-bye to our beloved pet Nellie. It seemed wrong to make such an appointment and then wait a day or two for the appointed hour while life went as usual. But of course, it wasn't "as usual" at all. It’s not a unique situation, so out of respect for you and your story, I won’t carry on – much.

A young Nellie

In 2013, when Nellie was in her tenth year, while still in apparent good health, she decided to retire from hunting. This was a dilemma since Mike wasn’t ready to hang it up. Enter Bess, and we became a two-dog family, which Mike justified by saying that the average lifespan of a German Shorthair Pointer is 11 years. We wouldn’t have two dogs for long, he said. I immediately thought of “The Pearl Necklace,” an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, where an old man convinces a young woman to marry him because he doesn’t have long to live. No spoiler alert.

Anyway, Nellie continued in slow age-related decline but basic good health. Initially, the worst of it was that she lost her hearing, but of course, the age issues were progressive. Today she was 15 ½.

I recall that summer of 2015 when Nellie sustained a rattlesnake bite at the farm. Mike drove her to our vet, who suggested he take her to the vet clinic at WSU. “Hey,” said Mike, “she’s gonna be 12 in a couple of weeks. We’ll just wait this out.” We made Nellie as comfortable as we could on the kitchen floor at the farm.

Learning of the bite, daughter Hallie called on “Face Time,” to ask if she should come to say good-bye. I told her I didn’t think it was the end.

“Show her to me,” insisted Hallie, so I carried my phone over to Nellie so that she could “Face Time” with Hallie. She was panting and had loss of appetite, but she came through that experience with her usual grace.

Hallie & Nellie during a camping trip

Mike has worked with German Shorthair Pointers for 50 years, and in recent years, the breed has been improved. Nellie was the first who truly related to people and became a family member. As son Clint put it, “Nellie was the first dog Mom liked.” I would say that she was as much my dog as Mike’s, and in these latter years, perhaps even more. KW

“No Fear Nellie”

9/11/2003 – 3/13/ 2019

[Photos of Nellie abound in my files, but today I show two that Hallie shared as her favorites.] 

THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER -- A WALK WITH NELLIE

I try to keep current with my blog posts – or else in the distant past. Nevertheless, when I took the pictures off my camera, I discovered that I had some nice landscape photos taken last Thursday, Sept. 21, the last day of summer. Mike had taken Bess and gone hunting. (The figure in the field in the above photo is Mike, and I think I see Bess, too.) So Nellie and I decided to take our own walk/hike.

As you can see, it was a brilliant afternoon with billowy white clouds. We headed down the lane and into the draw. Nellie has become a creature of habit and questions a deviation, but I convinced her we should take a new route, i.e., not climb Plank’s Pitch. I don't think she minds the Pitch much, but I do. From the draw, we proceeded into the gully, and Nellie enjoyed poking around in the grass and under the trees while I climbed into the field. The landmarks were familiar to us. We weren’t lost.

As we circled down into the old Plank field, we were then on the other side of the gully. I stayed above while Nellie explored near the brush. She found a deer trail under some trees and bushes, but surprisingly, she stopped and looked back at me as if to say, “Come down here, please. I want to go into this brush but not without your presence.” So, she waited patiently while I descended to her, and then she went into the brush to check it out. She didn’t stay there long, and we were once again on our way around the field.

At 14, Nellie has her physical challenges, but she can still negotiate pretty well in the field. Above, she takes the shortcut back to the lane.

This spectacular cloud appears to grow behind the house. Looking closely at the picture, you can see Nellie trotting back to the house through the field. She prefers the field to the gravel in the road.

 

Predictably, as evening approached, a storm developed.

Saturday Nellie and I again took a little walk. This time in order to avoid Plank’s Pitch we circled down off the road, entering June's field at the northern edge so that I could examine the elderberry and apple trees. And then we walked back to the house in the field above the lane. KW

AN AFTERNOON WALK WITH NELLIE

We’ve had two dogs for four years. At ten (four years ago), Nellie was slowing down and considering retirement, and Mike needed a more youthful, exuberant hunting companion. It’s just that neither Mike nor I considered the possibility that we would have two dogs for many years. After all, the average lifespan of a Shorthair is ten years.

Nellie really doesn’t want to hunt any more, but when she saw Mike and Bess leaving, she had some feelings about it. She watched out the window and marched around the house. And when they left yesterday afternoon, she’d had enough of waiting. Or, perhaps she remembered that before Bess came, she and I used to walk when Mike was gone.

“Get your visor, Kathy,” she said. “We’re going out.”

I let Nellie take the lead. Sometimes if I suggest the path, she won’t follow. She let me know that she wanted our usual walk – down the lane. At the apple trees, she found one on the ground to munch. As we went along, she visited the various black hawthorn trees for the tasty berries that drop to the ground. 

 

We both huffed and puffed up Plank’s Pitch, and she offered wordless encouragement as I slowed. 

Once we were on the flat, she headed for one of her favorite places – Pete’s Pond. When next I met up with her, she was already enjoying a cooling soak. “Ahh-h-h-h . . .,” she seemed to say. She stayed in that spot for quite a while, finally stretching right out. I didn’t hurry her.

Leaving the pond, she dallied a bit in the field. I was going to wait for her but remembered that she likes some “me” time during the walks. She’s really quite independent, even in old age. So, I set off in the direction of the road, but before I reached it, she passed me. I was pleased with her choice of route for our return to the farmhouse – across June’s field.

And now it was as if she was saying, “You’re on your own. You know the way and so do I. See you there in a few.” I stuck to the path that Mike prepared for us, and Nellie began to explore the field, caught up in her own little world. I watched her for a while, but it was clear she didn’t need me. I headed on back to the yard, and as I expected, she arrived a few minutes later. KW

NELLIE TURNS 13

Our German Shorthair Pointer Nellie turned 13 on Sunday, Sept. 11. She’s officially retired. The hunting which she once took seriously is now just a hobby. She was a good hunter and worked hard in the field, but at eleven, she gave it up.

Nellie is well past the average life span for a German Shorthair (I think it's 10), but she continues in good health for an old dog. Mike opined in May that she might not tolerate the summer heat, but she did. However, it’s clear that the cooler temps are to her liking and she’s been more active and vigorous the last few weeks. Her spirit was also renewed when her girl Hallie (and Nick) came to visit.

 

Oh, she minds not going hunting. When the hunters leave without her, she snorts and curls into a ball with her back to the door. But she has shown disinterest in the field. She gets in the way or gets tired and has to be delivered back to the vehicle, so she must stay with me now. I have observed that the old dog becomes my dog. For her years of previous service, however, she receives pension benefits of food treats when the hunters return.

Sunday afternoon, Mike took off on his bicycle, so I agreed to walk the dogs. Nellie said she’d like to go, but when Bess saw that Mike was not along, she declined our invitation and stayed in the back of the pick-up. Bess is a very active dog anyway, so if she doesn’t want to walk, that’s okay.

The pictures here were taken on Nellie’s birthday walk. Notice that some of the rape is growing. KW