A CELEBRATION OF TAYLOR,

a great dog!

Taylor came into my life in late February 2001.  She was rescued from the pound.
We estimate she was born in mid January.

As you can see below, she was very adorable from day one.  The older dog, Piper, accepted her without problems.

She was a typical puppy and loved to shred stuffed toys and animals.

For some reason she singled out the white stuffed toy in this picture and would play with it, but never shredded it.

For that reason, I have saved it through all these years and still have it.

All puppies love to run and play, and Taylor was no exception. She played from sun up to well after sun down.

She was the easiest dog I ever potty trained.  She soiled the carpet ONE time.  I rubbed her nose in it and put her outside. That was the one and only time it happened.

She was always very inquisitive and outgoing.  She once ran and jumped into a neighbors car who had just gotten in to go somewhere and still had the door open.

Of course all that hard play led to some serious naps!

She grew VERY quickly.  The week before this picture was taken she fit completely inside the little doggie bed.  She loved that bed so much she tried to use it even after she out grew it.

Here she is at approximately four and a half months old.  You can see how much she has grown and how long her legs have gotten.

I never wondered if she loved me.  It was obvious!

Always happy go lucky, ready to play!

July 5, 2001

Here she is at just a little over a year old.  What a beautiful dog!

One year and three months old.  Taylor spent the first several years of her life living in a subdivision in Vancouver, WA.  She got a trip to the dog park at least ONCE a day, and sometimes more.

Here she is just after playing with the neighborhood kids in our front yard.  As you can see, they did a good job of exercising her.

Kids from several houses away would knock on our door and ask if Taylor and Piper could come out and play.

 

Everyone had a good time and Taylor got lots of exercise.

Here are Taylor & Piper tearing it up at the dog park.  They really enjoyed these outings.  They had many doggy friends they would meet there every day.

Taylor on one of the many trails at the dog park.

At the park.

Everyone gets a little exercise at the dog park.

Dogs are unconditional love!  Everyday, without a clock or any sort of reminder, both of them would go out and sit near the end of the driveway to wait for "mommy" to come home from work.  Then the "pack" would be complete!

Taylor moved to Houston with "mommy" for a short time.  But she proved to be too much to handle so I brought her back home to Vancouver with me.

This was taken at a local lake on the west side of Houston.

This lady was to become a new "mommy" for Taylor.  Piper lived with his "mommy", who was nice enough to let him come for visits.

During the transition from one "mommy" to another, I had just come in from a week of flying and was sad about coming home to an empty house.  Taylor went and got her favorite toy to share with me.  A friend indeed!

New "mommy", Sandy, came with her own dog, Jazz.  Taylor and Jazz got along great. Just like with Piper, Taylor was the youngster.  I think it was for this reason, she stayed a puppy for a long time.

Taylor and I started a new chapter in both of our lives when we moved in with Sandy.  There were many new things to explore and learn about, such as pet rats.  Taylor never barked or acted aggressive toward the rats, but she was sure curious.

Taylor and one of Sandy's cats sharing some sunshine.

Taylor didn't need a park to play in.  She had lots of room to play with Jazz at Sandy's.  

Every morning the two would go out the doggy door and down a path to the neighbors where they got treats.  We called them grandma & grandpa.

Taylor and Jazz bonded like no two other dogs I have ever seen.  These may have been the happiest days of BOTH of their lives.

Taylor & Jazz got along extremely well.  They were inseparable.  They were both very loving and caring dogs.  Maybe that is why they got along together so well.

Sandy lived on top of a mountain.  During the winter of 2003-2004 it snowed a LOT.

Taylor & Jazz both had very thick coats of fur with an undercoat.  So both of them were impervious to the cold.  They LOVED it!

Instead of fetching sticks, they could bite at flying snowballs.  What fun!  What memories!

As you can see from the "driveway" in the background, we were snowed in.  I was on a two week off period from my flying so we had a great holiday.  It was fun!

My girls, .... at least at the moment this picture was taken.

My sweet Taylor!  She is the only dog that I raised from a pup all the way to maturity.  We only lived at Sandy's house for a short time, but we made many memories there.

Eventually we left the mountain top and moved to Washington, where I had been living before.  Only this time instead of a subdivision we were in the country.  Taylor was happy with several thousand acres to roam on behind our new house.

Here she and Jazz enjoy new toys.

Every time I left for a trip I expected it to be the last time I saw Jazz.  At one point we actually had an appointment to have her put down.  But she kept soldiering on, with her bad hips and crooked front legs.

But we knew that Taylor would be minus a playmate soon!

Eventually Jazz succumbed to old age and had to be put down.  About a month later Taylor got a new playmate, Hannah.

Taylor and Hannah got along splendidly.

Taylor became a surrogate mother for Hannah.  They were extremely close, but it was a different relationship than that between her and Jazz.  Taylor had accepted Jazz as an equal.  But with Hannah it was more of a motherly one.

Living in the country Taylor had the opportunity to be around our horses.  She always got along well with them.  She liked to stand under them while they ate grain so she could hoover up whatever they dropped.

Taylor LOVED being in the wilderness.  Her wild instincts were very strong.  She came upon a fawn once and grabbed it by the back of it's neck.  The mother deer saw Taylor and was coming to her baby's rescue.  I had to drag Taylor away from the fawn before the mama deer got there.

Up until just a couple of years ago she loved to fetch a ball.  She still wanted to, but her hips just wouldn't let her.

Taylor and Hannah eating apples. 
















Taylor and Hannah sunning.

She had many car rides, especially to and from the Portland airport.

Even as she aged, she was still a handsome girl.

Even at twelve years old she still was always ready to play!

Taylor acting silly.

At the Kelso, Washington airport.

Taylor and the Taylorcraft airplane she was named after.

Happy times!

As she aged her hips really bothered her.  She would go to where everyone was, but would lay down as soon as she got there.  

The last year of her life she had a routine where she would go out in the morning with me to clean the horse stalls, and again in the evening.  But all during the day she  just slept.

She was at peace with the world around her.  She enjoyed life as only a dog could.  I miss her dearly.

















Just like with Jazz, every time I was able to get home I thought it would be the last time I would ever see her.  This time it was.  I was home Memorial Day weekend.  That was the last time I would ever see her.

We knew the time was getting near.  That is why I took these pictures.  She had to have her rear  legs lifted up the steps to get into the house.  And she was hard of hearing the last couple of years too.  On October 19th, 2015 Sandy knew something was wrong with her first thing that morning.  It was one of the most difficult things I have had to do, but I had to give the vet permission to put her to sleep when they told me she was bleeding internally.  She is buried behind our house next to Piper.  A beautiful Western Red Cedar marks the spot.

GOOD BYE OLD GIRL!  THANKS FOR THE GOOD TIMES!