They say the best way to train a new bird dog is to hunt with a seasoned veteran. I followed this advice with Indie five seasons ago when she and I struck up a lasting friendship and bird hunting partnership with Scott and his veteran German Shorthair Remmy. When we started hunting together, Remmy was in his fifth season. A master on running pheasants and a retrieving fanatic, Remmy taught us all a lot about how to put pheasants in the bag.
I got a call from Scott on December 20th. He gave me the news every pet owner dreads, he’d had to put Remmy down. A cancerous tumor had burst on his spleen and the hardest decision was an easy one.
From the first time we hold our new puppy, we know that someday we’ll be holding our best friend at the end of their life. But still we choose to give our hearts away and to savor the moments and the memories we’ll make in the time that we have together.
When I hung up the phone with Scott, I called Indie over. She nestled her head into my lap and I gave her a hug. I’m not sure if she’ll miss Remmy, but I like to think that she will. He mentored her. He sat kenneled next to her for tens of thousands of miles. He retrieved her birds, ate her food, taught her how to whine when the black top turned to gravel, and through the rhythmic beeping of his collar he beckoned her over like a moth to a flame every time he struck a point on a bird.
I think she’ll miss him.
I know I will.