One of a Kind

Remington the Rock

9/2/00 - 5/7/11

It seems like it was only yesterday that Mike and I drove to McPherson to pick up a 20 lb 6 week old black lab.  He was the cutest thing I'd ever seen!  He was a fast learner and before we knew it he was a well trained hunting dog.  He had 5 generations of championship hunters in his pedigree, so we knew he would be a good hunter...but we had no idea that he would also be an amazing companion.  He was so gentle and loving and had the sweetest disposition of any dog I've ever met.  Kids could poke fingers in his ears or up his nose and he'd just lick their face (but only once...he knew he'd get in trouble for licking...his tongue was so big it was like getting a bath when he licked you!)  In the mornings he'd rest his chin on the side of our bed and let out big sighs (blowing air all over our face) until we opened our eyes.  As soon as one eye opened he'd start bounding around the room all excited that we were finally awake!  He knew he wasn't allowed to sleep in our bed (he was well over 100 pounds...that'd be like another person sleeping in our bed!), but every once in a while he'd try to sneak up there.  One morning Mike turned over to put his arm around me in bed (forgetting that I'd already left for work) and was startled when he opened his eyes and saw that Remington was laying in bed beside him...staring at him nose to nose! 

Remington went on many adventures with us.  He rode in the backseat on many trips to Texas, he climbed mountains with us in Colorado, he camped with us in various states, he hunted with Mike....and he hunted without Mike!  One opening day we were in St. John for the day and came home to find Remington limping.  We checked him out and couldn't find anything wrong, so we just made him a soft bed and let him rest.  The next day he didn't even want to get up and just stayed in bed all day.  Within a few days he was back to normal and we forgot about his soreness....until a local farmer stopped by for a talk.  Come to find out, Remington had heard gun shots on opening day and traveled 2 miles to find the source of the shots.  When he found a group of hunters...he decided to hunt with them!  He spent the entire day retrieving birds for the hunters.  They fed him lunch and he hunted all afternoon with them too!  He made it home (probably just before we did) and tried to act like he'd been there all day.  No wonder he was so sore!

One of the hardest things we've ever done is to leave him behind when we moved from Kansas.  We didn't know where we'd end up in Texas (an apartment? a house? would there be a yard?).  Remington was a hunting dog and a country dog.  He didn't belong couped up in a small city backyard where he'd get to hunt once or twice a year.  As much as it killed us to leave our baby behind, we loved him too much to take him with us.  We knew he was getting older and we wanted him to enjoy the last few years of his life.  Teri's brother, Bill, said he would adopt Remington.  They don't have any kids and we knew that Remington would be spoiled living with Bill and Paula. 

Ever since we brought Remington home to live with us, in the back of my mind I was worried about the day we'd have to say goodbye to him.  I honestly didn't know if Mike would survive that day.  Of course, back then I thought it would be us having to put him down or watch him die...I didn't know it would be us giving him to another family.  There is such a strong bond between a man and his hunting dog.  There's this unspoken relationship of shared passion that creates a loyalty like no other.  When we left Remington in Kansas, we left a piece of our heart there with him.  I can honestly say that there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about him.  Even Brody still talks about him all the time (and has a picture of him with Remy taped to the top of his bed).  Every time we talk about getting another dog, we don't get very far in the planning.  I think a big part of the reason is because we had such a perfect dog.  I don't think any other dog will ever be able to compare! 

After we moved to Texas, Bill and Paula let us know that the vet found cancer in Remy.  The next time we were up there for a visit we went to see him and we could feel the cancerous lumps all over his body.  He was still so happy to see us and was a loving as always and was still healthy enough to go hunting with Mike and Chris. He followed us everywhere we went while we were there...like he was afraid to let us out of his sight.  Brody cried and cried when we left and didn't take Remington with us...but again we knew that he was getting to spend his remaining days in the countryside that he loved.

A few days ago we got an email from Teri with news that we'd been dreading....but knew was coming.  Our beloved friend had died.  The cancer mixed with the heat was just too much for him.  Even as I type this the tears stream down my face.  We will never forget the joy he brought to our life.  When we broke the news to Brody the main thing he wanted to know was where Remy is now.  "Do dogs go to Heaven?"  Mike told him that we don't know...that the Bible doesn't tell us.  His response was, "Well if they do...I KNOW that Remy is there."