My condolences. I've never had a dog, but recently many have been coming my way, and I now get that connection with man's best friend... so I feel for your loss.

Good evening Thomas,
I am sorry to read this. My sincere condolences. It is a terrible loss and the pain is great when something beloved passes away. It reminds us that nothing can stay the same. Everything is subject to constant change and it also reminds us of our own transience. There is no I, there is no mine. I know you know that, Thomas. Just don't forget it.
With best regards
Eli

David Neel wrote: ↑2021-07-09 17:39 My condolences. I've never had a dog, but recently many have been coming my way, and I now get that connection with man's best friend... so I feel for your loss.

Yes, they really do make a great companion. We look after dogs for the Police and the last one was a black Lab, just like Bella. She’d been an Air Force dog and tbh, the social side of her development had been looked over, so she was quite nervous and submissive when she arrived. With love and assertive direction (ie spoiled like mad!) she really blossomed. She failed all her breeding tests so we were really hoping that she would get early retirement and we’d be able to buy her. She had such a lovely temperament, she was a joy to be around. Unfortunately for us, she was also a great working dog, so was snapped up to be trained as a search and rescue dog. Even though she wasn’t with us for long, thinking about her is full of mixed emotions. We’re very sad to have let her go, but we know we gave her a fantastic life while she was with us and we know she’s gone on to something even better.

was just reading about your loss - its soo sad. I know its like losing a family member. I wish you all the best and keep you in prayer.

Truly sorry to hear about your loss, Thomas. I really feel for you!

I am now a puppy custodian in training. Meet Lily who is three months old today and hell on paws. She will be helping evaluate Hi-Fi changes once I can get her to stop trying to chew on AC power cables!!! (And shoe laces, wooden cupboard knobs, owner's manuals, plastic record sleeves, metal chair legs and me, among other things.)

Well done Thomas! I have so enjoyed your company on this forum and look forward to seeing the new little member in videos too.

I wish you both all the best.

The look on your face says it all Thomas! She’s obviously brought a lot of love and life into your home, and long may it continue! 🐾😍🐾

Welcome to the forum Lily. One of ours chewed a coax cable once - she was our ISPup - but no power cords; thankfully. Hope the training goes well, and she grows out of the gnaw-ty phase without any damage to herself, or your self/system/house ;) Looking forward to Lily-dem :)

Great news Thomas!

She looks like a character!

I'm sure all the hard work will be worth it.

Thanks all! Yeah, I went to see a few puppies in Northern Indiana and she was all over me as soon as I walked up. So she picked me, just as Bella did. She passed the vet checkup with flying colors and got her most recent vaccination. (She'll be getting even more than we will...I hope!) I have a lot of chew toys with which I am usually able to distract her with but she is fast. I will be getting her into a puppy training class right away!

Next week I am on vacation so you will not likely see me up here. I am doing my annual spiritual retreat but as last year it will be virtual. (Not ready to have 4000 of us descend on downtown LA from all over the world quite yet.) But I very much enjoyed it last year in virtual mode and felt almost the same rejuvenation as when I have been there in person. However, this year it will be with puppy in tow so it definitely will be interesting!

Have a good vacation - hopefully Lily will pick up on your spirituality & relax into her new home
(http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-expert ... h-your-dog)

Congratulations on your new puppy, she looks very cute indeed! And you certainly look very happy too!

Cheers

its so nice to see you and her both happy - congratulation and a lot of fun with her - I wish you a wonderful vacation

Defender wrote: ↑2021-08-08 08:29 its so nice to see you and her both happy - congratulation and a lot of fun with her - I wish you a wonderful vacation

+1
Lovely puppy, enjoy :-)

Matt

Adorable❤️
Always good to have a retriever at home in case you miss placed your Ekos SE 😜
Looking forward to follow her way into tunedem and the world of music!

Great Thomas, enjoy both of you, shiny and happy, and have good holiday!

Hi Thomas, I have not been on the forum for a few weeks, so sorry to hear of your loss and good to see you with a new hifi listening companion!

Hi Tom: Just saw your post about Bella passing. I'm so sorry, I know the hole in your life that losing a dog can leave. I'm glad to see you've been adopted by another precious little soul. Bella can never be replaced but Lilly will keep you on your toes for years to come!

sktn77a wrote: ↑2021-08-18 19:47 Hi Tom: Just saw your post about Bella passing. I'm so sorry, I know the hole in your life that losing a dog can leave. I'm glad to see you've been adopted by another precious little soul. Bella can never be replaced but Lilly will keep you on your toes for years to come!

Thank you, and thanks all for your kind comments. Bella being my first dog I hadn't experienced before how devastating the loss would be. Having talked to a number of other dog owners I found a great similarity in how hard it hits us. But recovery is happening and there is no question Lily is keeping me on my toes - when she is not trying to gnaw on them! She is also growing like a weed, which may not be surprising since she likes to eat them. Here are a couple more recent photos (in the second she is very intent on a bird sitting on the fence):




Apparently Imgur won't let you do a crop that isn't roughly square or there would have been more image in front of her snout.)

You've done well to capture her expression in the top pic. Our dog is black and always a bugger to photograph. He's often just a black blob.

Something new, I suppose you could call it my system 4. I was rather pleasantly surprised off YouTube Cafe Jazz with no real warm up.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p8mdomags6fid ... M.mov?dl=0

didnt know that Epson is now also in the streaming business - the design could be more modern but in the end the musicality is what counts and they got it pretty good.

That is some rack you have put together there Thomas. I like the music too….. :-).

A wise move to keep them far away from puppy paws