In Loving Memory

I was born in an old barn in Canada with 8 brothers and sisters, I was raised like most puppies, always looking for my next meal and playing all the time.  Then at the age of eight weeks I meet Dave and Shirley Norris, they came to my house to find a puppy they could love, they checked out my brothers and sisters as I stayed in the corner waiting for the right time to tell them that I was going home with them.  Finally, I saw my opening and came rushing in, jumped on Shirley’s lap and said I am the one you want.  My plan worked and soon I was in their car taking that long drive back to a new home.

During the drive I could hear them talking about what they would call me, for over a hour they tried one name after another, then it happened….you guessed it…I threw up all over the back seat and Dave said I should be called Barf from the movie Spaceballs, but Shirley knew all the other dogs would make fun of me so she changed it Bart.

They took great care of me and taught me many things. Then one day when I was two Dave came in the house with a present for me, a cart.  What a great gift, I loved my cart, I went everywhere with it, to parades and parks, I learned to do so many things with it.  People I didn’t even know would walk up to me and take my picture of me and my cart, it was so great.  One day Shirley took me to a place with lots of other dogs and their carts and I had to take a test to see how good I was.  No one told me I couldn’t pee on a tree when Shirley was walking away from me L.  We I tried again and again until I got it right (no more peeing on trees) and I was given an award for being so good.  I was now a novice draft dog.( I wanted a Hoggie) I was so happy and proud of myself. As time went on I kept getting better and better till one day I took the test again and you guessed it I passed again even though I had to pull 120 pounds in my cart in a torrential downpour up a grassy hill.  I and several buddies had to stay out in the rain for 3 minutes.  I guess no one else liked the rain like me as they all got up and started to leave.  I just laid there enjoying the rain but I still didn’t get a Hoggie but now I am a real draft dog.  After that I made sure every time Shirley went away to a dog show with the other dogs that she would bring a Hoggie home for me.  I loved my hoggies.  I could even carry 3 in my mouth at one time.  Of course it was hard to breathe, but I didn’t care.  I had my hoggies.

As time passed I learned many more thing some good some bad (but fun) I could say please and roll over, open doors and how to be invisible.  I even learned how to kick Dave out of bed (good thing, bad thing, don’t care it was fun).  Then one day we moved to Spokane and I had ten acres to run and play on.  There were deer everywhere to chase (got in trouble for that) and places to lie around and soak up the sun.  What a great place to get old and lazy.  I especially liked my first winter there with 8 feet of snow.  I laid on top of a big drift and watched the driveway for anyone coming or going.

Then one day  something happened to me, it was so quick and sudden and I found myself walking in a strange place with other berners, it was called the Rainbow bridge, I could look back and see Dave and Shirley crying and wanting me to come back but I could not.  I had seen friends of mine there like Keli and Touché so I knew I would be happy here with my friends.  I will miss Dave and Shirley and I know they will miss me, I hope someday I will be able to see them again and take a walk up a big hill and lie under a tree and cuddle with them and watch the sunset one more time, because I know that’s what they will miss the most and so will I.

Love Bart

September 5^th 2000 to November  20^th 2009