Bailey

Sir Benjamin Bailey Anderson (Courtney, Evans, Vickers, Kwok - we all loved him, & he us)

Lover of cheese and warm blankets

April 1998-July 2014

We lost our buddy man two weeks ago to lymphoma and old age. We were in Florida helping dear friends move, and the Trusty Coworker (who was keeping him for me), called to say that between leaving for dinner and getting home, Bailey had taken a turn for the worse. I told him it was time for the Final Vet Visit, and I was (and am) so sorry that he had to be the one to take him. The Research Assistant (and her pharmacist) and The Auburn Fan (and a friend of hers) drove there as well, and they all kissed him goodbye and told him how much we loved him. And that he had pretty eyes. Because he did always have the prettiest eyes. I am so grateful to my village for all they did that night and the love they showered on Bailey over the years. We are heartbroken, and we will miss him forever. 

The smiles and laughs over him are already becoming more frequent, so I know one day they will outweigh all the tears.  Bailey was one of the most persnickety dogs I've ever known, and all his little idiosyncrasies just made him more loveable in my eyes.  He needed his plate rotated, and he barked and barked and barked at half empty water bowls until we got him the refilling cat bowl.  He used to chase Jay down the end of the dock when Jay would run down it to jump off, and once, when he was only a few years old, he tried jumping from the boat to the dock and missed, landing squarely and embarassingly in the lake.  That dog.  He and Jay had a bond unlike any I've seen between a dog and his person, and though it's hard now, it was truly a special relationship that made Jay, and all of us really better people for it.  The first fourteen years of his life, cheese was his favorite food.  Then he started getting arthritis medicine and discovered the Beauty and Wonder of Pill Pockets, and then every evening around medicine time, he'd just stand there and bark and stare at you until he got his pill pocket.  He didn't really like to chase toys, but he loved to chew on them and tear the little bits of fabric off.  He loved the same thing about socks, and if you had a loose sock, watch out, because he'd grab the tip and pull it off your foot.  He'd wake us up in the middle of the night to be put on the bed, or off the bed, or to go outside.  Basically, he taught us unconditional love, and patience, and joy, and the value of hard things.

He will be so, so missed, but never forgotten. Pretty eyes, always.