Jack

Well, it was another rough (ruff) day yesterday. Andrew and I went to the beach. As Dad says about us, "Life's a beach". Ya think he's making fun of us? I dunno. While I love going to the beach to meet other dogs and even swim (yeah, I know, I'm supposed to be a water rescue dog -- talk to the paw cuz the head ain't listening, he he), it still makes me sad as my really big brother, Jack, has been gone since December. Jack was the greatest. He was kinda like a lion but really nice. He always protected me. He always made sure I was safe. He would not even let me swim - when I tried to get in he would come to the shoreline and tackle me down to the ground. Maybe he knew I wasn't ready. When Jack left for the Big Sea, Dad wrote something that makes other humans cry and when they cry I get sad too. "I float now aimlessly without my compass to guide me, rightly or wrongly. My sense of direction is gone. Indeed, it never existed. I am left to my own feelings, thoughts, and desires. And I am afraid. For these have never existed in me." I know Dad still gets sad at the beach. I've been alot better since Andrew came along. He's just one-and-a-half and is a real doofuss. I'm going to write a whole lot more about him soon, but I just had to talk about Jack the Wonder Dog, my big brother who looks over me while he is resting from all the hard work he did all his life. (He even swam Alcatraz!) To Jackie-boy and all the other Gentle Giants in the Big Sea, I miss you and love you. Like the guy said, "Beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of Man without his vices." May the blessed Mary of the Angels wrap you in her cloak of peace.