Vacation Dismay -- How I Missed The Family Reunion

What a learning experience this week was!  While still at work on Wednesday, I had heard that Southwest Airlines had had problems with their computer system and it had been down overnight on Tuesday and they were dealing with the backlog all that day.  I assumed (wrongly) that that was then and this was now.  I was sure it would be history by the next day.  When I arrived at Sea-Tac Thursday morning, I discovered that my flight to St Louis was going to be an hour delayed.  That meant that I would miss my connecting flight to Minneapolis, but there was a later flight that I would be moved to and all would end well. OK, I thought, I could deal with a later flight even though it meant I wouldn't be at the reunion when it started.  Little did I know. . .

 

Our flight finally left Seattle around 11:00am (change from 9:00am).  We arrived in St Louis after 4:00 local time.  I had about four hours till my next flight, so I spent some time walking around the airport, checking out dinner options and spending some time window shopping.  Somewhere along the way the flight status went from an 8:30pm departure to a 10:00pm departure.  I had a good dinner at Chili's. No rush here! After dinner I called the hotel in Minneapolis and told them that I would need to arrange a late shuttle pickup when my plane arrived after midnight, but that I wanted them to continue to hold the room.  Then the departure time went to 12:30am. And later to 1:30am.   And then back to 10:30pm.   Then a few golden seconds when it said "On Time" -- but that was an error message if ever there was one!.  Discovered in all of my myriad conversations with customer service that we were waiting on flight 3021 that had NOT left Washington DC because our flight to Minneapolis was the continuation of that flight.  So the rest of the dragging hours were spent getting constantly changing departure to MN messages and arrival board from Washington DC. 

I stopped in again for customer services.  The carrot dangling in front of our eyes was the ever changing expected departure of this one flight.  There was no other hope.  They now could not book me for another flight to Minneapolis until Saturday night (this was Thursday).  Well, the family reunion would be over with breakfast Sunday morning, so if this flight didn't go I wasn't going to get there until the goodbye  hugs were underway. 

I talked to many other individuals and families who were also off to various family reunions all over the country.  No flights available to Cleveland; no flights to Chicago; no flights to anywhere everyone wanted to go.  And there were many of us waiting on that one ambiguous flight to Minneapolis that continued to hang on hour after hour. 

Once I realized that there was no hope of getting to the reunion, I wanted to know about getting home.  I could have bought a ticket to Minneapolis on another carrier, but then I would have had to also buy a ticket to fly back to Seattle, or I could try to use my Southwest return flights, but what if they were still dealing with this backlog on Monday? I was very concerned about getting back home because not only did I have to go to work, but the days I had already taken I were not paid vacation, so adding to my lack of work days and income was not a positive thought. I asked about flights back to Seattle -- nothing for  days.  Not through Orange County, Sacramento or San Francisco.  Not through Portland, Spokane, or even Boise.

I decided around 11 PM that I needed a Plan B.  I was already very tired, having milled around the airport for hours.  I checked out Travelocity (several flights available but not changeable) and decided to look at Alaska Airlines directly.  I found and booked the earliest NON STOP flight home to Seattle that I could get and paid  extra for a refundable ticket because IF I could get to Minneapolis to the reunion on my original ticket, I still wanted to go there.  Our reunion happens every three years and I will statistically likely not see some of the older cousins by the time the next comes around in 2019. I already feel cheated for not getting a chance to see them again and hope that their strong Norwegian constitutions will get them safely to the next reunion.

There were a few bright spots along the way.  I talked to a variety of people of all ages, ethnicities and interests.  There was definitely a sense of community between fellow travelers. I noticed fairly quickly that I was seeing many of the same people over and over again!  When the flight to Minneapolis was finally cancelled around midnight, I ended up in line near another woman traveling alone (she was meeting a relative in Minneapolis to drive together to a family reunion camping trip further east!). Her first name was the same as my middle name and my first name and her middle names were variations on a theme, so that seemed fortuitous! We hung out together for the next several hours.  We met a great employee of Southwest, Ivy, who rescued us from the long lines of people waiting to be processed now that our flight was cancelled and she issued us each our $200 travel vouchers.  She was the brightest spot in this ordeal.

We had to find my new acquaintance's luggage which had been unloaded since there was no flight to Minneapolis.  She had their camping gear with her!

She (and many other people) attempted to arrange rental cars, but couldn't get one because she wanted a one-way rental  rather than returning the car to St. Louis airport.  No one knew that till they got to the rental car office so we had a round trip ride!

We talked about sharing a hotel room for the night but by the time Southwest  cancelled our tickets all the local hotels were already booked.  Around 3:00 AM we said goodbye as she returned to the Southwest terminal and I had the rental shuttle drop me off at Alaska.  I was now looking at only another four hour wait for the beautiful Alaska flight to take me away from this chaos!  I seriously could not see myself continuing to camp in the airport for another couple of days while Southwest worked all the bugs out of their system!  I settled in to a moderately comfortable airport chair, used my suitcase as a ottoman and my bag (which had a pillow in it) as a pillow!    

When morning arrived I was delighted to board Alaska flight 711 and head for home, even if I was out another $600.  I was still sad I was missing the reunion.   It was the shortest four hour flight I have ever taken since because of exhaustion, I slept soundly from after takeoff until about 40 minutes before touch down.  Was I happy to see home sweet home!

So, what did I learn?  I learned that as soon as I was told there was a delay I should have checked to see how widespread delays were.  I should have cancelled that flight (planning to use it later) right away and booked another carrier if I could get a reasonable flight and headed for the reunion another way.  Worst case I should have just gone home and given up on the reunion immediately and avoided spending an entire day getting nowhere.  I did receive a $200 voucher for a future flight. I also got an email from Southwest today giving me a code for 50% off another flight.  But we still need to have another conversation about getting this entire flight back to use because I NEVER wanted to end up in St. Louis.  I wanted to end up in Minneapolis!  I don't think going to St. Louis counts as using my outbound ticket.  Time will tell!

 

Alas, I still did not get to see my very extended family -- which was the whole point of attending the reunion.  Hope I get to see you all again in 2019!  Stay well and prosper!

 

 

Spending A Little Time With Our Schipperke Pup

We are at week five waiting for our new puppy to grow enough to take home and we also have an upcoming family reunion that we will wait to attend before bringing home our prospective new family member.  But today we took a little road trip to see him again or for other family members, to meet him. We got to the breeder's home and were met with sounds of her early warning system. A few little dogs were barking up a storm and notifying the world that strangers had shown up.   His new Dad hadn't seen him in person yet, so got to meet him first this time. 

 Here he is meeting his new Dad's arm.  Such a dinky little dog yet.

 Here he is being held by his soon-to-be mom.

The room lighting is fairly dim for the comfort of the puppies.  Getting the angle right for the light is a little tricky!  He really has two eyes!  As do I :-).

 Here he was sitting on the floor for just a few moments.  And he follows that up with trying to walk around a little bit.  Probably has not spent much time on the floor yet.

Getting stronger and more adventurous every day. 

 I managed to share again and here pup is with Dad.  This provided some cute little close up shots.

 How to choose. . . Oh, well, I'll just keep adding photos.

Plumb tuckered out after all this excitement!

In comes mom -- Kiss Me Kate -- who is a wonderful mom to her pups and off they all went nursing again.  They all seemed delighted to be back in their warm and familiar family and getting another great warm meal.  Kate was very attentive to her pups and knew IMMEDIATELY that there was one missing as soon as she got back in the room.  She definitely could count -- one, two, three -- WHERE IS MY OTHER PUP!!  We gave her back her little pup and all was well. 

It was sad to have to get in the car and return home pup-less, but we know he is being well loved and cared for.  All four little pups are already accounted for -- fortunately.   Our daughter who went along for the day trip fell in love with one of the two female pups -- "the one with the flo-ahh-ppy ears" but when she found out the full cost of obtaining one, decided to save for another day.  We hadn't talked to our kids about the cost of pups these days just all the fun parts!

A cute twosome!  It would be fun to have a couple of little schipperkes.  But for now we will start with just one. We've narrowed names a bit -- but it is a challenging process.

We are very impressed with the dog breeder. Not a puppy mill. Pups raised inside, get attention and socialization and everything is clean and standards are excellent.  When we get our pup in a month and post after all is said and done, we will be happy to give out contact information if they would like.  If not, then that is OK also.  But for now this is not yet our pup so we do respect their privacy!

 Here we are looking at and holding them one more time.  Can't get enough of the sweet little guy.

I hate to wait. . .but am enjoying the anticipation.  CS Lewis says there are three parts to a wonderful experience.  There is the time of expectation and anticipation, then the actual longed-for event, and then the years of reliving the wonderful memory to follow.  So true.  I am enjoying the anticipating part but know it won't compare to having the fuzzy little fur-ball home and running around our house.  The new fence is up and the gates go up on Monday.  Repairs to fence after major windstorm last winter are motivated by safety for new pup.  (Not that he will be outside without supervision for a long time yet.)

A Clipping Solves Another Family Mystery -- Finding Carrie

I was looking for photos to post on Facebook for Father's Day when I came across the short obituary seen above.  I had no idea when I picked this up that it would unravel a long-time family mystery!  One of the family history questions I have had for almost 10 years is "Whatever happened to Carrie?" 

My great, great, great Uncle Henry Carlton Richardson was born to Robert M. Richardson and Rosina Healy Richardson on November 18, 1868.  He answered the call to fight to preserve the Union on December 2, 1861.  He fought in the War for 4 years and was injured twice.  On Sept 11, 1864 he was promoted to a Full Sergeant.  He mustered out of the service at age 26 on July 17, 1865.

Henry Carlton Richardson during his Civil War Service

Shortly after his return to civilian life, he married Jennie Whitcher of the Newbury, Vermont
Whitcher clan. It would seem since he came home in July and was married in October that either this was a whirlwind romance, or Jennie had been waiting a long time for him to come home.  Henry's brother Nathaniel  had married Jennie's sister Julia in November of 1861 and that may be how Henry met Jennie.  Anyway, Henry and Jennie had a first child, a daughter they named Cora, on December 2, 1866.  Cora was born in Topsham, Vermont where the Richardson's lived.  In August of 1868, they had a second daughter, Carrie. 

 Julia Whitcher Richardson, sister of Jennie

Nathaniel Healy Richardson, brother of Henry

At this time Henry and Jennie had either moved to Lancaster, New Hampshire with plans to stay there or had decided on an extended visit in order for Julia to help out with the toddler when Jennie gave birth to the second child.  At any rate, they were living with or nearby Nathanial and Julia Richardson when their hopes and dreams were cut short. A short time after Carrie was born in August, Jennie passed away (September 6, 1868). I surmise that after his wife passed away that Henry was counseled by his brother and sister-in-law that he couldn't work and raise two babies on his own and they advocated to let Julia and Nat continue to care for the two children while he pulled his life together after this terrible loss.

Years later one of his nieces would reminisce over his Civil War service, the impact of his injuries on his life and outliving three of his four wives to remark that he "must not have had a very happy life."  For some reason he returns to Topsham, Vermont, leaving his children with his brother's family in Lancaster, New Hampshire.  The following year he married Lydia Marie Whitehill.  Her parents were William and Anna (McLam) Whitehill.   She was also, it appears, a widow of Abraham Patterson Whitehill whose parents were James and Margaret (Holmes) Whitehill.  Lydia also had two daughters from her first marriage, Fannie (born in October of 1865)  and Nellie  (born in January of 1867).  How close the two Whitehill connections were (cousins or no relations) I have no idea. 

 Fannie Whitehill

Nellie Whitehill

The 1870 census records show that Henry and Lydia Richardson and her two children along with a first son born to them, little Robert, were all living in Palo Alto Township, Jasper County, Iowa. They had moved West to seek their fortunes. Henry and Lydia owned and were living on an farm adjacent to one owned by his sister, Rosina Jane Richardson Stevens and her husband David Stevens along with their daughter, my great-grandmother, Ella Jane Stevens.  However, Henry's children from his first married were not there.  A few years later Henry and his family returned to Vermont. David and Rosina Stevens moved back to Wisconsin where they had previously moved before the joint move to Iowa with Henry.

In the 1870 census, Cora shows up still living  with Nat and Julia Richardson in Lancaster, New Hampshire.  At this time she is 3 years old.  Nat and Julia also had two sons born to them, Arthur and Fred.  The three children show up together at various census takings across the years and later Cora marries Harry Bailey, they have kids and fade off into their own family history lines.  But the question remained, "What happened to Carrie?"  I have somewhere in the collection a letter from Julia to her mother in law, Rosina Healy Richardson, where she mentions that a family that wants to adopt Carrie but that Henry wasn't willing to let that happen.  But the name she writes is not legible and at this moment I've lost track of it so can't confirm.  But the story took a new twist today and a lot of puzzle pieces fell into place.

I began reading this short obituary and had no clue who "Mrs. Thomas Kasson" was.  But my great grandmother had saved the clipping for some reason! The name of the deceased's daughter, "Mrs. Mitchell of Hull, Massachusetts" was equally unenlightening.  But then the first ray of light fell upon the page -- survived by a brother, Hiram Whitcher - so there was her maiden name.  And I knew of the Whitchers because of the two Richardson brothers married to two Whitcher sisters.  And then the light blazed because one of the surviving sisters was the very "Mrs. N. H. Richardson of Lancaster, N.H" -- Nat's Julia.  I had found another sister of Julia and Jennie, one that I did not have listed in my family history information.

The next step was to take the limited information I had and search for information on her husband Thomas Kasson using her maiden name -- Whitcher -- as the connection.  The internet has its good side!  Soon I discovered a Naomi Kasson who was also a Whitcher before her marriage.  And surprise, surprise! In the 1870 census record of Thomas and Naomi Kasson who lived in Newbury, Vermont, there is listed a child in their home named "Carrie," -- a one year old.  The large Whitcher family parents and grandparents and all their children were originally from Newbury and here among them was Naomi and her husband. In addition, in the 1990 census the record of Naomi shows that she had given birth to no children (one of the questions asked).  And as a final confirmation of the real Carrie being found at last, in the probate of the will of Naomi Kasson, she makes her niece, Carrie, her executrix.  I always had been aware that my great aunts had known the whereabouts of both of Henry's first two daughters, but they never noted what became of them.  Everyone in their generations knew and didn't think about it enough to write down the information.

Henry Carlton Richardson in his later years

Adoption is a theme that runs through our family history.  My great grandmother Ella Jane was born to Mary Elizabeth Richardson (sister of both Henry and Rosina Jane) and Evi Welch.  Later Ella Jane was adopted by Rosina Jane, her aunt.  Cora it appears was not legally adopted either but she already had the same last name as her aunt and uncle who raised her.  Carrie took the name of Kasson early as in both the 1870 and 1880 census records she is listed as a Kasson. However, when she marries Ambrose B Mitchell, the record of the marriage notes that her parents were Henry Richardson and Jennie Whitcher.  At long last the mystery is laid to rest! 

Henry was married to Jennie for less than three years.  Their marriage took place on October 13, 1865 and she passed away on September 6, 1868.  He married Lydia on March 17, 1869 and they were married for 27 years until she died on March 26, 1886.   My great Aunt Dora wrote that Lydia was "the love of his life" and they are buried together.  He later married Maria Beede Chenowyth, daughter of Jonathan and Prudence Beede, another widow who had two children from her first marriage.  She lived until January 23, 1894. 

Lastly, Henry married Lillia Keyes on July 10, 1894.  She was much younger and lived until 1949.  I know nothing of their marriage relationship, but know the family liked her and were supportive of her obtaining his Civil War Pension. She outlived him and he was buried together with his Lydia, the wife to whom he was married the longest and with whom he had five of his seven children.

Henry and Lydia Rest in Peace Together

So at last Carrie was found -- right where she belonged, just like her sister, surrounded by Whitchers and Richardsons!  Carrie was born to Jennie Whitcher Richardson but raised by her  Aunt Naomi Whitcher Kasson. Cora was born to Jennie and raised by her Aunt Julia Whitcher Richardson.  The sisters grew up as cousins more than as sisters and also grew up as cousins to their other five half siblings born to their father and Lydia.  It's nice to know what actually happened to Carrie!

 

[Postscript:  For my first cousins and other not too distant relations who might be confused --, a little more identification on Carrie and Cora.  In reverse, following our ancestors in ascending order -- Begin with Ella Jane who was Dora, Susan and George's mother.   Her mother was Rosina Jane Richardson Stevens. Her brother was Henry Carlton Richardson.  Their parents were Robert and Rosina (Healy) Richardson.  I know this gets confusing! Henry is our 3rd great Uncle and Cora and Carrie were our First Cousins 3 times removed.]

FINDING SUSANNA

George and Susan (Sherwood) Ashdown

In going through old family photos from the Sherwood family, I came across this photo of a man and woman. On the back of the photo it says that this is George and Susan Ashdown and that she is Richard, James and John's sister.   I knew that Richard, John and James were the Sherwood brothers who had come to the United States in the mid-1850's along with their father, Samuel, from Kent County, England.  I had known of the brothers for many years and have a few letters about them in the stacks.  This was the first indication that there had also been a sister. She has been a bit of a mystery. 

 

I recently traveled to Salt Lake City on the sad occasion of Homer Sherwood's death.  Homer was a beloved first cousin to my parents.  Attending the service marking the celebration of his life also provided an opportunity to connect again with many cousins from several generations.  I got to catch up on some of their lives and also to introduce some of them to our interesting shared family history.  Another blessing was also that I got to meet and visit with another Vandervort distant cousin with whom I am friends with through the internet. This very hospitable family also works at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake.

I only had a little time to spend at the Library but was able to document a little more information about the distant great aunt who is pictured above.  I knew that Richard, James and John had come to the US from Kent County, England in the mid-1800's.  I also knew that Richard and John had fought for the Union during the US Civil War. But I had never heard anything of the sister until this photo surfaced.  Being at the FH Library, I was able to access international records which I can't do from home since I don't want to pay the extra fees.

 Richard William Sherwood 1829-1889 - 1 of the 3 brothers of Susanna Sherwood Ashdown.

As I have worked my way through the various census and family records, it appears that what happened is that John, the oldest brother, was the first of the three brothers to emigrate to the US.  He must have emigrated in late 1846 or very early 1847 as on September 19th of that year he married Ann Williams in Palmyra, New York.  Their first child, a girl, was named Harriett.     

Richard Sherwood, John's brother, married Mary Ann Gulvin on January 3, 1851 at the East Sutton church in England, ceremony performed by Rev. George William Watson.  They left for America four months later and it appears that the younger brother James moved with them.  Samuel Sherwood shows up in the 1851 as a widower.

  William Richard Sherwood 1859-1929 - son of Richard William Sherwood, nephew of Susan  Sherwood Ashdown and brother of Susannah Sherwood Pratt.

Susanna Sherwood Ashdown had a niece, Susannah Sherwood, born in America, who it appears was named for the Susanna who stayed behind.  The younger Susannah, who went by Susie, married Arthur Pratt of Johnstown Center, Wisconsin.  Due to her chronic illness (consumption?) she only lived to her early 30's and had no children.  The link above will take you to a letter that she wrote to her step mother (and aunt) talking about her life.  Her husband Arthur was reported to be a loving and thoughtful man who later married again and had several children from that marriage. Susannah had one sister older than herself, Esther, named for her maternal grandmother.   Esther and Susannah were born in Marion Township, NY which was just a few miles from Palmyra.  When the Richard Sherwood Family joined the John Sherwood family in America, they stayed for 4-5 years in New York.  During the spring of 1856 the Sherwood Families moved to Lemonweir, Wisconsin and after the Civil War they moved to the farm just outside of Kendall where members of the family continued to own the land for about 150 years.

I found that the 1841 English census is the last time the family is seen together.  Samuel, the father and the two older children, Susannah and John, are shown living in Cucumber Hale cottage.  Harriett and the two younger children, Richard and James, are next door at what looks like Ransom Park cottage.  I know that when the census takers came around they listed people wherever they happened to be at the time.  So perhaps Harriet worked next door for the homeowner and the younger children were with her. 

1841 census with all known family members.

Harriett doesn't seem to appear in the 1851 census and Samuel is listed as a "widower" so this seems to be why she did not emigrate with the other family members.  Having to take care of estate details could also be the reason that Samuel did not leave at the same time as his sons.  Susanna doesn't show up in the 1851 census although George appears to be listed as married but no wife is named at that residence. We do not know if Susanna Sherwood Ashdown was married before she married George Ashdown and had grown children that had homes of their own at later census takings, or whether they simply had no children.  So far I haven't found her in the 1851 or 1861 English census and by the time she shows up in the 1871 and 1881 censuses, married to George, a lot of time has passed since she is last found in the 1841 census.   

1871 census with George and Susan Ashdown 

1881 census with George and Susan Ashdown

 All these old pioneering families are hearty souls who faced a myriad of trials in search of their goals.  I imagine that originally Harriet planned to travel with them.  Or maybe the loss of their anchoring wife and mother was the catalyst for the men seek better fortunes here in America.  The Sherwood sister Susanna stayed in England, but it's nice to be able to reach across the miles and the and the one and a half centuries and acknowledge her place in the family!

Sweet Baxter -- March 14, 2002 to March 15, 2016

Our home is so very quiet now.  No little barker standing at the top of the stairs welcoming us home or complaining about the wait for dinner or his need to run outside to take care of business.  .

He started his life with us at about ten weeks.  He was born March 14th and we picked him up over Memorial weekend while down visiting family in Oregon.   He captured our hearts from that very first day.  We had met his sister and realized we had found THE CUTEST PUPPY EVER!!!  Puppy Schipperke's look like miniature bear cubs before their noses grow out and while they still have only their soft undercoat. I am always irritated that I can't tell for sure which of the penta-puppies in the photo is Baxter. 

When we first moved to Snohomish County he was only a year and a half old.  Sometimes we would add a bandana to give him a little flair -- one time I pulled it up over his nose and christened him "Bandit Dog."

Schipperkes have a lot of fur so he was always happy to go for walks in the winter.  While summer hikes left him a bit worn out with the heat, with winter hikes he was still going strong when the rest of us were feeling rather frozen!

This was what he thought about the summer heat! Taken during our spectacular 2015 Summer!

 

 

Baxter was very social and originally thought every dog was his friend. He wasn't so sure about that after he almost became an hors d'oeuvres.  He was very accepting of the cats when he was a pup, but became less tolerant as he got older.  Here he is with "his own cat" Duncan. They had a rough and tumble relationships -- but at the end the cat was giving Baxter a bath.

It's obvious Baxter does not trust Duncan and is pretty wary of what might be coming!

 He loved people too and always had a fun time welcoming all the "Men's Bible Study guys" as weekly members of his pack.  He also  hoped that chocolate chip cookies would fall from the sky.  He had been known to snatch a cookie from anyone who neglected to keep theirs safe.  Here he is at the top of the stairs waiting for the entry of one of his "boys." 

He loved going to Pacific Beach and chasing gulls.  In spite of being a "Belgian Barge Dog" he didn't particularly like getting wet so generally stayed away from the surf. 

He was the perfect sized dog to have sit on your lap.  He hated being picked up and held but was fine with sitting on laps.  He much preferred his paws to be on terra-firma!

Schipperke's have annual "blowouts" and it takes a lot of brushing to get their undercoat loosened up and separated from the dog.  We laughed that we could have made another dog from all this extra fur!

We liked the "festive dog" look during the holidays but he wasn't so enthusiastic.  He hated the bells on that neck scarf and went to work on chewing all the bells so that they didn't make noise.  We finally took the bells off but still made him wear it!

He went on our neighborhood camping trip to Orcas Island and had a fun time!  We had a good time with the neighbors although our idea of camping runs more toward Comfort Inn.

When circumstances warranted the necessity of it -- he hated the "cone of shame."

A couple of years ago he had a paw infection of some sort -- don't remember details. He started out with blue "shoes" and with a cover to keep his paws dry (He didn't like the latter).  His later "shoes" were hot pink. While he didn't like the rain covers as they were slippery, he tolerated the "shoes" well because his paws were not hurting and he could take walks while he healed.

He started having seizures in 2012 but that was controlled by medication.  He was getting a bit arthritic the last few years, but that just slowed him down a bit.  It was the lump on his shoulder diagnosed as cancer that ultimately was his undoing.  As he declined he remained patient, rarely whined or complained and kept his dignity to the very end.  On his last day he just laid in our arms, mostly mine. 

We call our sweet Baxter the world's best dog because he was always amiable, good tempered and tolerant of all the pick-ups, hugs and snuggles that he got on many occasions.  He was always ready for a good walk and loved when the Seahawks played -- as he was a fan of the other dogs who attended the games and of the occasional snack that dropped from the sky!  His devotion to his family and family friends was primary in his short but well-lived life.  He loved our teacher friend who was the best dog-sitter one could hope for and we always knew he was in good hands when we left town.  He adored me and spent many hours lying beside my desk while I worked -- giver of  unmerited (by me)  trust and devotion. 

Good bye my sweet little friend.  I hope that all dogs DO go to heaven and that my late sister Venca was able to meet you and escort you to Jordan's other side.  Here you were at Pacific Beach in 2010.  two years later she passed on.  May your journey be peaceful and joyful as you follow her into the light.