Sir Ludaclyde Donnagan of Skye (March 17, 2007 - April 18, 2010)

Our good buddy passed away this morning at 6:45. He will be greatly missed.




This all happened quite suddenly in the last thirty six hours, totally out of left field. To keep it short, he had a brain tumor that started showing slight signs (stumbling) on Wednesday, but quickly progressed between Friday evening and Sunday morning when he stopped breathing on his own. We were able to be at his side as he passed quickly without struggle.

We had way too little time with the Captain. May 5th would have been only the three year anniversary of us bringing him home. In that short amount of time he made a huge impression on us. Whether it being making us laugh, or pissing us off, every memory of him is a good one.

Take our try at organised training. Clyde barked constantly and just wanted to play with the other dog while the trainer was talking. When it was our turn to do the floor exercise he promptly dropped a duce in front of twenty other dogs and owners. Yeah, I believe everybody understood, but it is still embarrassing to picking up a turd while others are watching. Extremely stressful at the moment, very funny now.

We have a ton of stories like that.

He was a gentle soul that loved food, everybody that he met and water (in that order). He ate every meal like we hadn't fed him in weeks, met every person like he hadn't seen them in years (even strangers), and took to water like an otter. His favorite place was the Edmonds Dog Park on the Puget Sound. It could be thirty degrees out, and he would wade chest deep with his back to me, waiting to toss his bumper. I would try to keep him above, in the dry part of the park, but he would eventually bolt, and go in by himself. He loved to fetch his ball in the family room until it was annoying.

I am sure glad that I dragged out the P&S camera last weekend, and shot some video. I had no clue that it would be the last time. I put one up on this post, Clyde Going Ape, showing him in full freak out because we drove to the park. He was like a teenage girl going to see the Beatles.

Here he is on that same trip, doing his favorite thing, fetching his bumper out of the water....


And finally here is a video of Clyde and I playing in the backyard (while Carrie worked) the day before.


I love that at the end of the last video, he gives me a 'high-five'. Suspiciously it was much the same movement as his 'low-five' and the 'on-the-side'. The handshake was the same thing too. He would only do it with the proper paw.

Clyde was a special dog and in our short time with him he made our lives better. I would do the experience all over again exactly the same, no question, even knowing how it ends. He was our Pooper....

Clyde, buddy, we are really gonna miss you. Thank you for all the joy you added to our lives. Already I miss the incessant pawing at the back door to go out, only to change your mind when I opened the door, or paw to come back in ten seconds later after you just sniffed the air a couple time.

I'm going to miss my walking buddy, though my shoulder might not.



I sure wish you were here laying under my feet, bored, as you often did when I was sitting at the computer.



Adios amigo, you were a great friend!