RUBY

                The entire family, my wife Stacey, my daughter Rachel, and my son Alex, were all in attendance on the field trip to find a new dog to replace our dog Stella that had just passed away.

                From the second we saw Ruby at the San Gabriel Humane Society we knew that she was the one. There was an instant connection we all felt, like we had known one another in a previous life. Once we were all together in the "get to know one another room" our first impressions were confirmed and she was ours. Or should I say we were hers?

                Ruby established the rules when we got her home. As she was getting her first sniffs  around the perimeter of the house a small nosey bird swooped down to around 4 feet over Ruby's head when she leapt straight up in the air and grabbed it. Despite our best efforts she devoured the entire bird, bone and all, in 2 minutes. An edict had been sent across the property that the presence of birds and lizards would not be tolerated on Ruby's watch. And so it remained for the next decade.

                Despite being the terror of small interlopers in the yard, she was the sweetest, smartest, and most intuitive dog I have ever owned. This dog understood English and when one of us spoke to her in a normal tone  she would immediately respond. This little pet trick amazed us all. It was not something we taught her, it was just a talent she had.

                Over the years she was also the best traveling dog. She instinctively knew where her spot was in the car on the long drive up to the Eastern Sierras, which is a 5 to 6 hour haul. Not a whimper or a whine, she was just happy to be there. As she got older, as with most dogs, she developed a few gas issues, but nothing a couple of ginger snap cookies couldn't cure.

                About the only negative quirk that she had was her toe nails. She would not let anyone cut them. Not us or even a professional with a muzzle. Nobody. I guess everyone is allowed a tick and her nails were it. The only thing we can assume is that somewhere in the early portion of her life, we rescued her when she was a little over a year old, someone must have hurt her when attempting to trim her nails. That  time was one time too many.

                Other than her nails, she gave us a stress free and unconditionally loving existence, but time catches up to us all and during the last few months they caught up to Ruby. Her decline came on quickly and we could see the writing on the wall.

                Her legs that once climbed the mountains of the June Lake Loop could no longer carry her to her food and water bowls. Her sharp instincts that struck fear in the hearts of lizards and birds in our yard were dulled to the point where she could barely make it to the lawn's edge with no energy left to complete the hunt. Her quality of life had ceased to be. It was time for all of us to let her go.

                So at 1:00 on Saturday afternoon, September 20, 2014, the entire family gathered together to say their goodbyes and to escort  Ruby to the Rainbow Bridge. As a group we delivered her to the compassionate hands of the Temple City Animal Hospital. None of us wanted her to cross alone so we all stayed with her to give her final pettings until we knew that she had safely arrived.

                Every family feels that their pet is the best and that is the way it should be for someone who has given you a lifetime of unconditional loyalty and love. While most of us will have other pets come along to hopefully fill part of the void there is always that one that can never be replaced.

                For us that was our Ruby.

Bill Dunn has been a published opinion columnist for 15 years. Any comments  can be sent to either our exalted  editor at  tmiller@beaconmedianews.com   or  to Bill directly at dunnsinferno@casegod.com   You can also find Bill on Facebook  at :   www.facebook.com/WhenAllisSaidandDunn