Cosmo's Page
In loving memory.
9/15/00 to 10/05/01 A life so short, a love so sweet.
If tears could build a stairway,
And memories and lane,
I'd walk right up to heaven
And bring you home again.
After four years of college and no
pets, we decided that we were getting at least one dog as soon as we graduated
and moved. After many, many hours of research we decided on the German
Shorthaired Pointer. It took a series of emails to many people, but I got in touch with Nancy
Lane from Lazy Hearts Kennel in
Glendive, Montana. We arranged a meeting for Easter weekend 2001.
After talking with Nancy and meeting several dogs and pups, we decided to get
Kiss and a male pup. Nancy agreed to keep the dogs for another month,
until we could get moved. It took us two weeks to decide on a name for the
pup. Finally, Cosmo was chosen! On May 16th, 2001 we made the trip and
picked up Cosmo and Kiss. What an adventure the next few weeks were!
Potty training, leash training, and crate training were key! Since we
didn't have a fenced yard, all outside adventures had to be supervised. An
outside kennel was constructed, the dogs had to have a place to spend their time
while we were at work.
Cosmo had several nicknames: Cosmonaut, Cosimodo, Flying dog (from the time he 'flew' off the top of the deck onto my shoulder), Hound Dog, among others.
Cosmo was a wonderful dog. He
made me laugh everyday after work. He would be so excited that we were
home that he would jump up and down on his hind legs and bark. It was if he was saying
"You're home, let's play, let's do whatever you want to, just let me be with
you. I want out!" He was one of the most mellow
dogs that I have ever known. He would rather cuddle than anything else.
He would have been an awesome bird dog. We had just tested him for being
gun shy. He didn't even look when we shot the .22. When the 12-gauge
was fired, he looked to the sky for a falling bird.
We adopted Cosmo when he was eight
months old. He learned quickly. One of his favorite tricks was to
open sliding glass doors to let himself inside. He was so intense when we
played ball. The picture shows one of his favorite
pastimes...playing with lots of toys!
When we first got Cosmo he didn't have any 'breaks.' He would run full speed at us and use our bodies to stop himself. Fifty-five pounds of running dog/puppy is hard on the knees! He was a growing, clumsy puppy that was very unsure of his body. It was at about eleven months that he started to become more agile. He was beginning to run gracefully. A beautiful animal.
In the four and a half months that he was with us, Cosmo taught me many lessons. Even though I hate losing him, I am glad that I could be with him for even that short period. A poem I once read says that we do not learn from pleasure, but learn much from sorrow. Unfortunately, I've found that it is true. Looking back, hindsight is 20/20, I see that I should have enjoyed the time I spent with Cosmo more. Now the muddy dog prints on the carpet don't seem so bad. Carpets can be cleaned, love cannot be replaced. The early morning potty breaks I would welcome, just to be with him again. Rather than be upset about the lost sleep, I wish I could curl up on the floor with him and just be. The things that I wish I would have realized sooner!
Read the
article about his tragic death.
Cosmo, angel puppy, we miss you dearly and will see you at the Rainbow Bridge.
"If the eyes had no tears, the soul would have no rainbows." EdW
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