Greywoode Snow Bunting TT,CG,SE,Am.CD

July 03, 1991 - March 06, 2007

Am.Ch. Nettleby Nighthawk WC,CG - Greywoode Stepping Stone

"Nadine"

"I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart) ..."
                                                                     from a poem by E.E. Cummings

It is hard to know what to write about Nadine. What a remarkable character she was! She was the alpha bitch in my pack of 5 Borders. I sometimes mistakenly thought that she wasn't a "strong" leader, now I realize that she was simply matter-of-fact about when to take things into her own hands and when to step back and let ME handle things.

She was matter-of-fact about most things. Grooming? Well, she was very pleased when I figured out a couple of years ago that we would both be much happier to just run clippers over her. Crating? Well, why???? It seemed clear to her that she should not have to be crated. Even when traveling in the van, she was happier to be riding on the front seat beside me and clearly expressed her stress and dissatisfaction if I crated her for safety.

When she whelped her litter of pups sired by Pam and Marnie's "PC Sage", she popped out 4 pups in 10 minutes! So much for my desire to keep detailed charts, mark toenails as to the birth order, time of birth, weight, etc. etc. No real need for all that. The whelping box was right next to my bed. She slept with the pups the very first night. After that, it was clear to her that she could sleep next to me and jump down to check on the pups if they made any sounds, take care of her duties, and come back to bed with me when she was finished.

I fretted and worried for months during obedience classes, trying all sorts of things to get her to stand without moving a foot during the Stand for Exam. She would NOT do the exercise without moving one foot. Finally I just put here in her first trial, at the National Specialty in Wisconsin no less. I was beyond nervous. Nadine, of course, stood rock solid during the Stand for Exam. Earned her first leg!!!! She matter-of-factly earned the next 2 legs at the next 2 trials. Now I realize that she simply thought that training classes and actual trials were two different matters.

She taught me many lessons during the last 2 ½ months we had together following her surgery on December 27th. Nadine made it quite clear to the other dogs that she was still the Queen. She made it clear that she expected to be within sight of me and to have most of my attentions. It was clear that she knew exactly what she wanted to eat, and how it was to be prepared, and I just had to figure it out.

Nadine was not a lap dog and hated being fussed over. But she wanted to be with me, always. I miss her little face trotting in to find me, even in the bathroom. Looking back now, I am not surprised that the night before she died, she would not settle down. I picked her up and she allowed me to place her in my lap where she finally fell asleep. Something was not quite the same.

It is my dearest wish that someday I will see another little face with her eyes. Then I will know that a bit of her spirit, just for a fleeting moment, is there. Because of Nadine I have met such wonderful friends and because of her I am part of this wonderful world of Border Terriers and their people.

"Good girl Nadine!"

We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan...

From "Separate Lifetimes" by Irving Townsend

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