In Memory of "The Unsinkable Molly Boren"

[richandlori]

Tonight was a rough night in the Boren house. Our chocolate lab Molly was struck by a car and died. She was known as an escape artist and had broken free from our backyard before, but I thought I had solved the jail breaks by installing an electric wire at the side yard gate, her favorite escape point. We came home from dinner and discovered some broken fence boards into our neighbors yard and from there she went through one more neighbors fence and then found her way to the street and around the corner to the kids school.

We had Molly for a little over 5 months, and in that time she had become a part of our family, sleeping in our bedroom and keeping my family company while I traveled around the countryside for work. She did what labs do best, play fetch without end and swim in the pool along with our two kids. She will be missed immensely by the whole family and her friends.

There hasnt been a dry eye in the house all evening as we try to explain to the kids the whole life and death thing, which isnt easy. Im sure anyone who has had a pet can relate, as my wife and I are emotionally drained and about out of tears. I needed to have some type of release, so I did what I always do for a cheer-up, come to the MacGregor site to visit with friends. Tomorrow morning will be sad without having her waiting to go outside to play ball, it will take some getting over.

In Memory The Unsinkable Molly Boren


Rich

[RobertKing]

Belive me I feel your pain, I was married 22 yrs to my first wife and when we broke up she told me I dont want the dog, you have to take him
and I responded, who said you could have him! He was a Spainal by the way and now he is gone, I dont think I ever shed a tear when I was in Nam but I did when he left. Now I have a new wife and a new Mac, however I still have the mems of that little guy, plus I found another one and he is with me to, now you tell me who is the sucker. Do not let him down, do what I did, one of those dogs needs you.

[Catigale]

Our condolences from the Boyle Smith house. THey really do sneak into your heart dont they? The Admiral inherited cats when she married me, and always called them the d* vermin who polluted her house. She was the second to tear up when our old tortoise shell curled up in her favourite spot on the floor one evening and passed on in her sleep though.

I see a chocolate Lab coming your way soon...not to replace but to remember...

stephen

[Moe]

Our sympathies on the loss of your friend. Many of us know what you're going through and feel your pain.

[jetta01]

Sorry for the loss Rich. My Molly is sitting here on the couch crying after just reading your story! It is amazing how much animals become a part of your life! Grizzly and Kodiak can be a pain at times, but we love them and they are always with us.

[Dcal]

I'm saddened to hear of the loss of your compainon and family member.

I'd like to share this poem with you and your family.

http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm

Don Callison (Dcal)

[richandlori]

Sorry to make your wife start off the day crying Rick and to everyone else that was touched by my post. I didn't mean to make everyone sad, I just didn't have a CLUE as to how hard it would be to loose Molly. I haven't had a dog since I was in high school and I forgot how hard it was when Duke (a Golden Retriever) died when I was 16 and cried all day.

I showed my kids the photos of Molly posted in my original post this morning and it did make them feel better that Molly was on the World Wide Web. We also went through all my digital photos saved on the computer and were laughing at some of the funny ones. There are some additional tears this morning, as I was put away the little things around the house, like her food/water dishes Doggie bed, and things like that.

The weird thing is that the kids are taking it better than Lori and I. We cant even look at each other without tearing up. The sad thing was that we were out to dinner for our 10 year wedding anniversary..some ending however. I feel pretty guilty for not doing something more to keep her from getting out.

Thanks again for all the kind words. It helps.

Rich

[mike]

Rich,

How terribly sad. Though 5 months is such a short life, it sounds like your family provided a wonderful life for her while she was here.

And you really did do everything you could... she was just a very smart and crafty dog.

--Mike

[Rich Smith]

Rich - Sorry to hear about Molly. Lori and I wish you and your family the best and we hope that as time passes the memories of the good times had with Molly will bring a smile instead of a tear.

[Divecoz]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I see from the post that many of us have lost friends as well, so we really do feel your pain ...
Over the years I have had to put down numerous dogs /friends and lost my Trained Attack dog "Elizer" to a car. . . those are the worst because they happen so quickly and you have no chance to say good bye. . .

[Mark Prouty]

Soory to learn about Molly. I'm a dog addict. I'd be all busted up if my pup went unexpectedly especially since she's such a good navigator.

[RandyMoon]

Sorry Rich. With our kids grown and gone, our 2 dogs are our children and best friends. We both dread the day they go to puppy heaven. Dogs are the best. We have lost a few and it is definately tramatic.

Our condolances to you and your family. Below is a portrait my wife had made for me last Father's Day.

[Richard O'Brien]

I think were all saddened by your story Rich. Theres a Native American story That Im pretty sure most have heard, but It goes: The Great Spirit was dividing up the parts that would come to be the world. Separating things as we know, is the hardest of all tasks, but it must be done. He decided to create a great chasm with humans, deemed special, on one side , and all the other creatures on the other. In a great caucophony of dust and noise, the Earth began falling away dividing animals from humans. At the last moment, Dog looked across at man and saw he was all alone. Dog never had much common sense, but all his brothers, Fox, Wolf and Coyote, knew Dog had been given the wisest heart. At the very last moment Dog leapt across the chasm to be with Man. Humans tamed other creatures and we made them our brothers, but Dog chose Man.
They are so crazy when theyre young. Their lives so brief? My three dogs went through rattlesnake bites, skunk attacks, being kicked by horses, and one even tearing boards off the fence to chase a cat and be hit by a car. Thankfully she lived. We are blessed by their presence. Dogs are a big pack, and while youll never replace Molly, Youll no doubt be found by another one when the time is right. Additionally I hope we can figure out how to safely have them on board our Macs.

[RandyMoon]

Our 12 year old "son" named Toby (a dog) has been going down hill with kidney failure and arthiritis. The Admiral has always taken the boys out for a long walk everyday. Toby has been struggling trying to walk very far. He lives for getting out everyday and exploring, wetting every tree in his path. So the Admiral came home with a partial tsolution today:



We figure he is on his last leg (no pun intended) but he will still get his daily trip around the lake behind the house. I took him in for tests today and his options are limited. We love our dogs.

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

Randy,
Not a bad idea but he might have a little trouble keeping up with his "Tree-mail".