A trip down a long memory lane

There's a lot to dislike about Facebook, ass-kissing Trump-loving Zuckerburg heads that list, but one feature that I enjoy is the practice of showing memory photos that you had posted on that day in prior years. I almost always enjoy those and today I had a number of them that were particularly good. 

This is Maya and me at James River Brewery 12 years ago. Maya loved to go along, anywhere, and she really didn't like being left at home when we went out, so we took her as much as possible. In her later years she became very much a homebody and preferred to stay home. 

This is Killian, one of Della's puppies at five weeks of age, six years ago. He was adorable, and still is. 

This is a moose that I saw on an evening hike in Glacier National Park on a trip with my mother and sisters, eight years ago. It was a wonderful trip and we saw a lot of wildlife.

Back at home, 12 years ago, I took a foster Great Dane named Patton, a/k/a Horse, to a big dog meet up that included a Saint Bernard named Desi, another Saint named Gus, and Great Pyrenees named Daisy. It was great fun.

On this day 11 years ago I was out on a hike with Sparky. Sparky is the dog who got me out on the trails on a regular basis. He loved it so much and his joy was infectious. I don't know how many miles we went that day, but over the years he and I covered hundreds of miles on the trails at Pleasant Grove. 

Memories are often a mixed bag. This is Smokey, a former foster that I had euthanized six years ago because he had an unfortunate tendency to bite people. Even so, my memory of him isn't entirely bad. He was a good dog in many ways and I loved him. I still have his collar with me along with those of all of our own dogs and former fosters who passed away in our home. That box of collars is making the journey with us as a tangible reminder of all the precious memories we've made with the many dogs who have passed through our doors but are still at home in our hearts.