2016-08-09 - Tuesday - Binkley

Although I am woefully behind on updates here, I am going to step out of date sequence to say goodbye to our dear Binkley who left us on Tuesday. While 15 years is a long time for a large dog, it's WAY too short for us, and we miss him dearly. He was 75 lbs of pure love.

I thought I would take a moment to commemorate the wonderful life he gave us along with his unconditional love every day.

He was born 6/20/2001 and his puppy photos are all on paper somewhere in a cabinet, so I am sticking with the digital ones for now.

A handsome devil in 2002.

Chilling in the sun 2003.

Wrestling with the kids 2003.

Jumping for soap bubbles 2004.

Not crazy about the camera 2009.

Trudging toward the house 2010.

Hamming it up in May 2016.

The joy he brought us is immeasurable. The way he fit into our lives and daily routines was amazing. He knew voice commands and hand signals. He would follow me with a tilt of my head. He was always ready to play. He got more and more affectionate as he aged and loved rubbing his face all over my chest and shoving his head under my arm, lifting me from the couch. Kisses were always sloppy and plentiful.

One of my favorite things over the years was whenever I would sit on the top step in the hallway he would automatically park himself next to me. We would both sit there for a few seconds staring straight ahead, and then he would swing his head around and slobber all over the side of my face.

It's true a dog will break your heart in the end, but the rest is so worth it.

I'll leave you with a grainy video I took with our first digital camera after a snowstorm in February, 2004. I apologize for the quality, but the absolute joy comes through the years.

Hug your fuzzy children tight and enjoy every day with them.

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