A Friend Passes

These Photos have no chronological order. Above is Lacey J as a Pup with Sunny, 2006, Sunny is 11 years old.

Sunny loved boat riding, and aboard Tropic she was with her Friend Lily, n her green parrot.

This was about 2000, and Sunny was 5 or so.

Sunny was so conservative, that without her coat, you could see her patriotism. Would be nice if this is the way most Americans looked? 2004 at 9 years old.

Same good ol' dog as the photo above, but with her coat on, covering up the Stars n Stripes, while she fishes.

And same ol' Girl, now with her dogtags on, as "The Original Old War Dog"

Sunny on her first birthday, and her Red Haired Friend "Chassie", 9/12/1996, Dade City Florida.

Sunny at 5 years old, Holly Hill official greeter, Holly Hill Florida 8/10/2000

Sunny at 7 years old, Old Wood Bridge Fish Camp with "her" Pelican 7/15/2002

Sunny at nearly 3 years old, "Blonde on the foredeck" mode, No Name Key Florida 7/15/1998

Hello Y'all:
On Saturday, (Sept 6,08), my most significant other, and closest friend for the past 12 3/4 years died. Sunny had Arthritis, deafness, and full blown Breast Cancer. I held her head as she died, just 2 minutes after licking my face in a final kiss. If only our human friends could be so steadfast, so dedicated to our comfort as she was; we'd be much better off. No one that I have ever known would have died for me, no one. No one that I have ever known was so tolerant of my shortcomings, and my mannerisms. Sunny and I communicated in a way that wives and I should have communicated.
There is no grotto, no memorial, not even a headstone where I buried her. It will just be a level place in a 40 acre hayfield here on the farm. My memorial to her is my memory of the fantastic life she and I had as a team. I live extreme and we lived extreme. We have memories that stretch from Central Florida to the Keys, the Bahamas, and even to the Carribe. She was a special animal.
She tolerated and enjoyed my friends and let my agressors know that she was between me and they, (several times). 30 or so months ago, she and I selected Lacey, my Great Pyrenees Dog to be her replacement. It was a good choice. Lacey is not like Sunny, and will not be all as super as Sunny; but she loves me, and knows that I am a "touchy feely" sort and gives me physical contact to let me know that she is here for me.
Sunny knew over 250 words and phrases, could "talk" to me with her eyes, and always knew just where I was and stayed between me and harms way. We rode out hurricanes aboard boats, fought and caught big fish, and played with the worlds best "players", (she swam with and communicated with Dolphins), and generally had one hell of a good life. She is known by thousands of people, from all walks of life, and did some thing to please each of them.
I said my goodbyes to her in her last days, and she, in her way said hers to me.
I would ask that every one of you please, please, help someone become aware of the early testing available to prevent Breast Cancer. Sunny was beautiful, but she was burdened with this UGLY disease. Please don't put yourself in her place.
RIP Sunny 9/12/95- 9/06/08

***** I CALL HER LACEY J *****

After losing one of the best companions a person could hope to have, I now have one who is fast becoming another treasure. Lacey will never be Sunny, but she is unique in her own way.

Being of the "Livestock Guardian Dog" instinct, she is terribly independent. To many, this makes her "bullheaded", while I see it for what it is, and so long as it doesn't interfere with my plan or her safety, I allow and encourage it. She has no past instinct of being a "lapdog", or even a "by your feet" dog. Her mother and father lived full time in the pasture, and were neither pets nor treated like pets. She weighs #112 now, and will, most likely, round out at about 120#. This is a good average size for a female Great Pyrenees Dog.


Lacey is going through a bit of a transformation of that mentality, with me hoping to keep her independence while still having a great companion. We spend nearly all of our time together, and in true Livestock Guardian fashion, my welfare is as important to her as is her keeping predators away. Having a dog door to come and go from the house, she will divide her night with barking to warn away predators, with spending time laying next to me on the bed so that she can share her body heat with me.

At just over 3 years old, she wants desperately to be able to prove herself to me, being continually wary of anyone or thing approaching me. Hee at home, she doesn't allow any unannounced visitors. This includes the expected fox, coyote, and wolf predators; but vultures and C-130 airplanes as well. Ever since she has been here, not one of those pesky low-flying C-130's has dared land. She barks and keeps them going on by. When she thinks that I have nothing interesting going on, she'll let me know that we need a walk, or that we need to lay on the bed and bond. She is moving into the #1 "significant other" spot quite well.

I hope in the future, to be able to do more posting on our relationship, but in the meantime, enjoy your dog. (If you don't have one, you have my sincere pity and condolences.) I credit my dog(s) with being the core reason that I am alive and healthy today. They've goaded me into activity when I have felt lax, and they've caused me to smile, even laugh, when I thought things were dark.

And, for any of the extremist sorts, those who see dogs as dirty- I would rather have my dogs drool or spittle on my face than a Qur'an in my hands. My dog is cleaner than any pedophilic drug addicted muslim idol. Surely cleaner than any male, (not necessarily a man, here), who would strap an explosive vest on his child, or beat his wife, or find a rape victim as the guilty party. (Raghead Moslems- I am addressing you here. I find you and your misdirected ways to be as vile as that idiot Mohammed who married and raped a little girl.) Your not liking dogs is so suggestive of how sorry and pea-brained you really are. What a sorry lot that doesn't love their dog.

More later, but in the meantime, I check by frequently, and would enjoy your comments, (with a reply option). Trolls, if you do not leave a reply option, you will be deleted as soon as I note that you've posted here. My friends and fellow Dog, America, and Military Lovers, let me know that you've visited.
Love your dog, support America's fighting forces, and Hug your kid.