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October 22, 2001 |
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Faithful Companion
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It is with deep, painful sadness and teary eyes that I sit down to write this week's 'On The Trail' column. My dog Alobar died this morning, from a sickness he could not recover from. Alobar, a three and a half year old yellow Labrador retriever, was my best friend, faithful companion, and little shadow. Most people who know me automatically associate me with Alobar; he really did go just about everywhere I went, and he had so many friends all over who loved him. He went to work with me every day and had become The Catskill Center's 'house dog'. Whenever I had to go somewhere and couldn't take Al with me, his big buddy Aaron was always there to watch him and take him on hikes. Alobar had the most charismatic personality of any dog I can imagine; a bit spoiled perhaps, and a championship beggar with his handsome blocky chin and penetrating gaze when there was food around, but well behaved and fun to be around. Al was convinced he was 'one of the guys', and we usually treated him like it.
Alobar lived to be outdoors hiking and swimming, and the Catskills was the perfect place for him to live his short life. Looking back through my hiking journal, I figured out that Al accompanied me on hikes to 28 of the 35 Catskill high peaks, four of the five Catskill fire towers, and numerous other trails and camping trips (many of these places multiple times). He loved to go canoeing and swimming in the pretty Catskill ponds, and floating in a rowboat down the Delaware. On countless occasions Al would sit and wait patiently on the bank of one Catskill trout stream or another while I fly fished, although there were a few times his desire to splash and swim got the better of him and ruined my chances of catching any fish. Al loved the snow too, and was the target of many snowballs and powdery tackles. I used to yell at him when he would follow me so close as to continually step on the backs of my snowshoes, but now I will miss it. I will miss doing all of these things with my little friend.
Alobar's name comes from a Tom Robbins novel called 'Jitterbug Perfume', in which the character was a king who had great strength, true love, and immortality. Although he was not immortal, he was a strong dog and indeed lots of people truly loved him. As Aaron and I worked side by side in the chilly darkness of this morning's early hours to dig a grave in the rocky Catskills soil above our house, a barred owl called out - and I was sure it was Al's guardian angel come to carry him on to an even better place, although it is hard for me to imagine one. I hope everyone out there who has a special pet that is their best friend will take the time to enjoy the outdoors with them, and cherish each moment with them. Goodbye Alobar, King of the Jitterbug.
- Chris and Aaron
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