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ByDelana - Glass Designs - Home

In Memory

Vinny
26 June 1997 – 01 March 2010
We have lost a very much loved member of our family. Those who met Vinny know what he meant to us. To say that he was a good dog is a gross understatement. To say that he was the best possible dog for our family is only adequate.

He had no vices. He was a gentleman. He was a true ambassador for his species. He was never aggressive to people. He viewed every one he met as a potential friend and playmate. Everyone who met him instantly connected with him. He was even loved by people who were afraid of dogs.

I remember well a Halloween party we held for Emil and Erik years ago. A little ‘princess’ named Brooke was on the guest list and her parents were worried about Vinny since she was terrified of dogs. We assured them we would keep Vinny in his pen. When they came to pick her up she was sitting with Vinny inside his pen petting him. That’s the kind of dog he was. He was just easy to be around.

His many hobbies included running after the neighbour’s cats and chasing rabbits in the fields where we took our walks. He was too big and heavy to catch either so we indulged him.

He was trusting. Too trusting….A favourite game of mine was to point in a random direction while out walking in the fields and say, ‘Did you see that rabbit…there he goes…go get that rabbit!’ He fell for it every time, running off in my indicated direction at top speed until I called him back.

And he always came back. He always did exactly as he was told. People credit me with that since I spent the best part of two years with him in dog school. But I think it was more his nature than my firm hand that made him so reliably obedient.

He adored pancakes and would sit next to me in the kitchen as I cooked them with full knowledge that he was allowed one when we were finished at the table.

When he could still manage the stairs to my studio he constantly kept me company there. Sometimes just popping down to let me know that there was a cat in the garden that needed to be chased off, sometimes sleeping there while I worked, occasionally sitting right next to me with his head on my lap.

Someone once asked me why I wanted a Border Collie. ‘I want a dog that will play fetch with the boys until he drops or until they get tired of the game.’….I got exactly what I wanted and so much more. He was always ready to play…always eager to learn a new trick.

In the end he held on to life as he lived it, with gusto and determination. His spirit was not willing to go but his body just couldn’t keep up. He was gently put to sleep at home with his family around him.

I have lost my children’s guardian and best playmate, my running partner, my friend and my companion at home and in the studio. The house is a lonely place without him. For me there is a colossal chasm left in his absence.

Sometime this spring, when we are ready, his ashes will be scattered over the fields he loved to run in. Maybe he’ll finally catch his rabbit.