Lady Talisker: December 4, 2006 - July 21, 2008
Loyal and dear friend of Lord Macallan of Earleton, and our sweet companion.
If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it;
to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.- Marjorie Garber
There is nothing you can do, but I thought you should know the very sad news. On July 22, we buried Tali (Lady Talisker) in the back yard overlooking the lake where she liked to swim.
As we do often during our morning walk, we had turned the dogs loose to run free, and they took off deep into the woods, probably chasing a deer or something, which is standard practice. But they didn't return when we called, so we had to go out looking for them. Sharon found Mac about an hour later, but we couldn't find Tali. We drove around the neighborhood and eventually found her body lying by the side of Hwy 26, about 2 miles from where we let them loose. Her penchant for chasing cars was her final act. In one sense, she died doing what she loved.
Her sudden departure was very hard on both of us, and especially hard on Mac. We're trying our best to help him through this period of adjustment, but he lost such a dear friend - they were joined at the shoulders from the time they met. It is a miracle that he wasn't there at her side when we found her.
Tali was with us for such a short time, but she was a very happy dog. She woke each morning with her tail wagging and ready to give us sweet doggie kisses. We miss her so much, because it was so sudden and way too early for such a good dog to go. I'll add a few words from Hamlet as a tribute to her honor:
She should in ground unsanctified been lodg'd
Till the last trumpet; for charitable prayers,
Shards, flints, and pebbles should be thrown on her.
Yet here she is allow'd her virgin crants,
Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home
Of bell and burial.
Must there no more be done?
No more be done:
We should profane the service of the dead
To sing a requiem and such rest to her
As to peace-parted souls.
Lay her i' th' earth.
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest,
A minist'ring angel shall my sister be
When thou liest howling.
- Hamlet
We've been taking Mac and Tali to a spot nearby that has been prepared for development, but no building has started. There is a cleared dirt road that runs about a mile or more back into the wooded area and a small retention pond at the entrance. They love to run and explore the trail and I always let them go for a swim before we go home. Tali is more of a swimmer than Mac, so she always leads the way into the water. Of course, they push and shove each other all the time like two teenage boys coming home from soccer practice.
Tali was born December 4, 2006.
Came to live at the Habitat from Insanity on February 2, 2008.
Killed on Hwy 26 on July 21, 2008 - buried in the back yard overlooking the lake where she loved to swim.