On May 16, 2005, at around 5:30 a.m. my beloved Weylin passed away. He was the perfect friend. He had been with me literally since birth. His mother was my grandfather's dog. She stopped feeding him when he was a pup and my grandfather brought him in the house for us to take care of so he wouldn't die.
     I remember his first night in the house. I sat up in my grandfather's old chair and held Weylin all night so he could sleep and wouldn't feel afraid and alone. As he got older, he developed a habit of loving to follow everyone around. He was so little that we were afraid of either stepping on him or tripping over him so we had to buy him a little blue cat collar with a bell on it to keep track of him. He was this little, fat black ball of fur romping through the house tinkling with every step.
     My grandmother has an old antique treadle sewing machine and while he was small enough, his favorite place to sleep was on the treadle. He was so tiny that it wouldn't even move when he stepped on it.
     He was originally my grandmothers dog. She named him "Waylon" after Waylon Jennings (one of her very favorite singers) and a previous full-blood Flat-Coat we had named "Waylon". She gave him to me when the dog I had at the time passed away and I changed the spelling of his name to something a bit more "unique".
     From the day he came in the house he was my little guy. Not only was he just the most loyal friend in the whole world but he was also my little hero. Weylin and I were home alone once and I was taking a nap. A spark from the wood stove caught some nearby papers on fire and Weylin came into my room and made me get up. Thankfully, we just ended up with a little water/smoke damage. But it could have been much worse were it not for him. And I remember one summer night when I took him for a walk. He started tugging on the leash and almost pulled me off my feet to make me walk a different way than the way I was headed. I looked down and my very next step would have been right on top of a huge Copperhead.
     Even though I've still got Max and Bernadette everything just seems so lonely now.
     I know that as time passes it will become easier and easier to deal with the tremendous loss me and my family are experencing right now. Even so, I'll never forget Weylin as long as I live. He was my special baby and nothing will ever be able to replace or erase him in my life.
     It was stated on the front page that I was always telling him he was my "pride and joy". He was a treasure from the day he was born and he always will be my pride and joy.
     I love you, Weylin...

Hi!! I'm Weylin. I'm a Flat-Coated Retriever mix. My grandfather was a full blooded Flat Coat. I'm named after him. I will turn thirteen this November 2005. My mom raised me from a puppy and is always telling me that I am her pride and joy. I look a little different now than I do in my pictures that mom has posted here. Some of the hair on my ears and chin has turned gray. But I'm still incredibly cute!!

Ever since I was a puppy I have had a fascination with water!! I love to smack at it with my paws and then try to catch the splashes in my mouth!! Since I love doing this so much, and mom loves watching me do it so much, she bought me a kidde pool so that I could spend hours in it playing during the summer. I really love it!! Mom has posted some pictures of me playing in my pool on my page!! I am so happy to have my own page!!

I'm a pretty good guy most of the time, but I do love to get into trouble every now and then!! I'm forever trying to steal my sister Bernadette's treats. Sometimes I succeed!!

     One of my very favorite things to do when I was younger was play in my swimming pool. My Mom knew that I loved water because I am a water dog by nature. She brought me the most wonderful present one day: my own swimming pool! I have always loved pawing at water and trying to catch the splashes my big feet make when they smack the surface of the water. Having my own pool to lounge around in all day and splash in made it all the more fun!
     Now that I'm a bit older I don't play in my pool anymore. But I'm very happy Mom has so many great pictures of me playing in it!

Aren't I Cute???
I am looking at my mom right now. She wanted to get a good picture of my face so she called my name. When she did, I started to hop out of the pool to run to her!!

If I could only catch those splashes!!!
Here I am, slapping at the water with my little paws again trying and trying to catch the water. I just don't understand why everytime I try to catch it in my mouth I can't hold onto it!!

What did I hear?
I'm just positive I hear someone coming to play!