Bits and Bobs

Always start off with something nice to say ... so I'm saying it with a photo! This is Gypsy, our second German Shepherd ... we adopted her at 8 weeks old. The owners had two female pups so we tested them both and Gypsy was by far the livelier one. She was extremely intelligent ... easy to train ... a therapy dog who spent a lot of her time visiting 'old folks' ... and was used to walkers, wheelchairs, canes, etc. A great protector, a great friend and companion, won four ribbons at AKC shows for obedience.
One time Rich put on a halloween mask (so when we opened the door to give the treats, we would be 'in the Halloween spirit') .. and he was curious to see how Gypsy would react, so he stooped over and staggered out of the back room. Gypsy was in the living room with me and she immediately got up and charged at him, barking like crazy. He threw himself upright and whipped off the mask and yelled "whoa, Gypsy, it's ME". Then we had a good laugh about it .. but he never tried that again!!
She was an ambassador too .. we took her when we went to fairs and set up a fund-raising booth for the volunteer animal rescue group we ran. The kids loved her and I'd have her perform some tricks for them.
One time I had her in a local park and was throwing the tennis ball for her .. and a little boy came over ... maybe 3 years old, and asked if he could throw the ball. Well, he couldn't throw it very far, but she ran after it. I told him to hold his hand out and say 'give' .. and she brought the ball back and plopped it right in his hand. He was thrilled! That's the wonderful personality she had! I miss her so much.
Well, it looks like I had lots of nice things to say .. about Gypsy .. such good memories I'll cherish for the rest of my life.