My best friend has crossed the rainbow bridge

 Gus, my loyal companion of 8 short years succumbed to Evans Syndrome, an autoimmune disease where one's body attacks its own red blood cells. I believe Gus was suffering from this months before he actually got to the point where he could no longer stand. I thought his fatigue was just aging, but it was probably this miserable silent killer.

    He left us in March. His spirit will linger forever in my heart. I see him everywhere I turn. We walked many places together. Places I drive by, or walk alone. It took several weeks before I could walk our daily route here in Russian Park without crying. 

    Oh Guster...how I love you, how I miss you.

I got to hold his massive head in my hands, pet his soft warm fur, and love him as he was put to rest.

It has taken sometime for me to reinvent myself without him. But, I'm moving forward.

Future blogs will prove that yet another chapter is to be written.

February 10, 2023

     It seems odd to be living urban again after so long a living a rural and very rural Alaska. I have to admit, there are many things about urban that I enjoy. EVERYTHING one may need is merely a 15 minute drive. Added advantage of Anchorage...ski trails galore. I haven't actually skied any this season. Why? Well, I attribute that to 'dog guilt.' I hate to go outside without Gus. Gus is my BIG DOG. No kidding,

he's pretty big. Often when out walking, drivers stop their cars and roll down their windows to take a better look at him and say, "That's a big dog!" I usually just smile and agree. Sometimes I say, "I thought I was getting a Chihuahua."

     He is often mistaken for a St. Bernard. "I've never seen a black and white Saint Bernard!" And you still haven't. Gus is a mix, Great Pyrenees and Newfoundland. Gus has become a focal point and influencer in my life. His deep resounding 'woof' has gotten my husband and I in trouble with countless neighbors for years. He also has been the vulnerable part on which 'sickos' have focused their threats and lead to restraining orders. In fact, it was the attack of a pack of two German Shepherds while I was walking him on leash through the village that was the catalyst of a major change in location, in direction, in life.

     But more on that another time.

Today it is dang cold out again. I've found I don't handle the cold as well as I use to. Even though I bundled up, the hour walk with Gus left me drained of energy.