Family dog

On April 27, 2000, Seth and I welcomed our son, Ryan, into the world.

I didn't have an easy pregnancy. It started with an ulcer and morning sickness and ended with high blood pressure and partial bedrest. Throughout it - especially the bedrest - Abbie was right by my side. When people asked if Seth had gained any sympathy weight, I'd laugh and say, "Of course not." 

Then I'd add, "But Abbie has."

Forever and always, Best Dog Ever.

When we brought Ryan home from the hospital, Abbie was underwhelmed but accepting. If she could have talked, I'm pretty she'd have said, "Not what I'd have chosen, Mom, but since he's ours, I will take care of him."

That's exactly what she did.

One time my mom asked why all the baby pictures included Abbie.

"Well," I joked. "She's still my favorite."

I got in a lot of trouble for that.

I remember one time Ryan and I were sitting on the floor in the kitchen of our rented duplex. I was trying to get him to wave to me. Behind me, I sensed Abbie getting increasingly agitated. Finally, she barked one loud bark. I turned to look at her, and she was waving.

The next time I talked to my mom, I said, "Hey, guess what? The dog is smarter than the kid.

I got in trouble for that, too.

James was born on March 10, 2002.

Abbie was thrilled.

I'm kidding, of course.

By this time, Abbie had learned to appreciate the hugs...

so many hugs!

and forbidden snacks and forbidden snacks that came with small children.

In 2003, we bought a house.

The next year, we got a second dog.

I was hoping she and Abbie would be friends, but the best we ever got was "at least they don't hate each other."

That's not to say that Maggie didn't make Abbie's life better.

She absolutely did.

After James, I'd mostly stopped taking Abbie places with me. There's just so much overhead in getting two small kids packed up and out of the house. Adding a dog to that - even the best dog ever - felt impossible.

But then we had Maggie, and she was a big, strong dog who needed to run.

Dog parks became a thing again.

Abbie loved that.

This is, perhaps, my all-time favorite picture of Abbie and James taken at the Cherry Creek State Park off-leash area in 2007.

My friend Carol...

 and her family's dog, Rasko, often accompanied us on these outings.

Those were good days.

We had so many good days.

Who knew the dog I got when I was a single horse show girl would be so good at raising children?

She really was the Best Dog Ever.

But also, she was getting pretty old.

Married with dog

When I was twenty six, I met a guy at a bar. He asked me if I had a mountain bike, and I told him no, I had a dog. Apparently, that was a good answer. Phone numbers were exchanged, and within a week, we went on a proper dinner-and-a-movie date. 

Over the course of the evening, I talked a lot about the dog.

Of course, I did. She was the Best Dog Ever.

After the movie, I invited him to come meet Abbie. She had spent the weekend at Wonder Cave with my roommate, Debbie, but it was late and they should have been back at home.

They were not. 

That was really concerning. I more or less threw that guy out and spent the rest of the worrying. At 1 AM, I got a phone call from highway patrol. There had been an accident. The people had been taken by ambulance to a hospital, but the dog was loose on the highway. Could I please come get her?

I got in my car and drove east on I-40 until I saw flashing lights. I pulled onto the median and was immediately accosted by a cop. I told him who I was and why I was there. He turned on the radio and announced the dog owner is here. Abbie was nowhere to be seen , but when I called her name, she came flying out of the dark and jumped into my car. The cop got back on his radio and let everyone know the dog was safe.

The officers on scene didn't know which hospital Debbie had been taken  to. It took most of the night to find her. I drove her home in the morning. On the way, we stopped at the impound lot to retrieve her belongings from the car.

The movie Seth and I had seen the night before was Pulp Fiction. There's a scene where someone gets shot in a car, and let me tell you, the inside of the ruined car was almost as bloody.

None of the injuries were serious, but the next couple days were rough. I all but forgot about the mountain bike guy. Luckily, he didn't forget about me. We reconnected, and he finally got to meet my dog.

That guy - you've probably guessed his name was Seth - was working a seasonal job at a golf course in Memphis. At the end of summer, he moved back to Kansas. When my schedule took me to Missouri for the St Louis National Charity Show, he drove and spent a few days hanging out with Abbie and me.

While I was working, he took her for a walk around the showgrounds. He came back amazed at how many people had greeted Abbie by name. I smiled and said, "I told you she was famous."

In December, Seth moved back to Memphis.

The next couple of years were filled with big life events. 

In 1996, I quit my mobile tack shop job.

The next year, Seth and I got married.

After that, my dog was his dog, too.

He'd grown up with birds, not dogs, and there was an adjustment period.

Fortunately, they were able to bond over their shared love of outdoor activities.

The three of us went on a lot of hiking...

and camping trips in both Tennessee and Arkansas.

I knew she'd won him over when he started taking her on after hour visits to his very dog-unfriendly workplace.

In 1998, we moved to Denver. 

Seth and Abbie went on a lot of cross country ski trips. He bought her a set of snow boots, which she did not like. She much preferred placing her front paws on the back of his skis!

Life was just kind of chugging along.

Then in 2000, everything changed again.

To be continued.

Show dog

On June 17, 1994, my roommate woke me from a deep and much needed sleep to tell me she'd found the perfect dog for me. 

I was tired, cranky and unconvinced. "What does it look like?" I asked.

"She's really cute," Debbie replied. "White with donkey ears."

"I don't want a white dog," I said peevishly. Still, I put on some clothes, got in the car and went to see the her.

She was hiding under the break room table when I arrived. I looked her and realized Debbie was right. The dog was perfect.

I had the foresight to bring my camera, so I have a few pictures of Abbie from that day. She was about four months old and had been her own for a little bit. She was hungry and skittish, and her fur was covered in oil stains. She also had a wad of chewing gum stuck in her hair.

Little girl had no idea how much her life was about to change.

That night, Debbie, the new pup and I sat on the foot of Debbie's bed to watch OJ Simpson's infamous slow-speed chase play out on live tv. That was the only thing people were talking about the next day, and several friends suggested the names OJ or Nicole. 

I went with Abbie instead.

It wasn't long before Abbie attended her first horse show.

Then she went to another...

and another.

And that was her life for the next couple of years.

Fortunately for all of our sakes, Abbie loved being a horse show dog.

She loved riding in the truck and hanging out in the mobile shop.

She loved my co-workers and their dogs...

and our customers and their dogs.

She also loved exploring all the different show grounds.

No surprise, her favorite was the cross country course at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Everyone loves the Kentucky Horse Park!

Most of all, she loved attending exhibitor parties and sitting in the stqnds with her people.

Just about the only thing she didn't love was the horses themselves.

So maybe she wasn't actually perfect, but let me tell you, she came pretty darn close.

Even between shows, Abbie lived a life of travel and adventure.

She accompanied me on a long roadtrip to visit friends in Pennsylvania...

and New Jersey.

Debbie took her places, too.

She had a friend with a boat, and together, they spent a lot of time on the water.

Sometimes I got to go, too.

Debbie also had a friend with a cave.

The cave was located in central Tennessee, about an hour outside of Nashville. Every time we attended a show in Franklin - which was often - we'd spend a night or two with Julia and the cave dogs.

Abbie loved being an honorary cave dog.

One time while we visiting, Julia asked us to represent Wonder Cave at a fun dog show in nearby Sewanee. 

Of course, we said yes.

We entered the Best Trick class, and Abbie wowed the audience with her sitting, shaking,

begging...

and rolling over.

Of course, she won.

She was the Best Dog Ever.

Our lives might have continued on this way indefinitely, but one night in Memphis, I was out at a bar, playing pool with my friend, Tracy. This guy sidled up to me, smiled and asked, "Do you have a mountain bike?"

That seemed pretty random, so I answered in kind.

"No," I said. "I have a dog."

Little did we know, the trajectory of all three of our lives was about to change.