Saying goodbye to a four legged friend

It can be hard saying goodbye to the hairiest of family members.

Alex, our 12-year-old German Shepherd was at one time going to be our third super-furry expedition member, but as time passed and he got older we realised he was going to be happier staying in New Zealand. As he aged, he craved the familiar and found new places stressful, he preferred sleeping over chasing sticks and rabbits. Our flights were already booked, but fortunately Ben’s sister had offered to take him in, we had imagined him having a happy retirement with his favourite extended family (he loved the company during the day and our niece is very generous with Schmackos!).

Sadly, this was not to be. Late one Sunday night in March we said goodbye to our hairy chum. It was a tough day and it was hard to say goodbye. He has been a part of our lives for over 12 years, so the last couple of months at home without him was pretty strange. We were constantly expecting to see him waiting on the front porch when we got home from work and kept expecting to trip over him in the hallway.

Now that we are on the road, we still find ourselves missing him. We went to the Overland Expo in Flagstaff and seeing all the other travellers with their dogs made us miss him all the more. Even though we know if he was still with us he would not have been happy travelling, we do find ourselves wondering what it would have been like having him on the road with us. (In his younger days, there would have been a lot of squirrel chasing, but perhaps just some lazy barking in his old age).

Adios Alex, we miss you heaps!