Saturday morning hike for Sally

It was this past week a year ago that Sally-Wally moved to Doggie Heaven.  It was a very sad time for our family and really impacted Katie.  Having never had a family pet, I was surprised at the emotions and the loss you feel -- after all, she was just a dog, right?  I've learned now that dogs are not just dogs and the loss you feel for a good pet is equal to the loss of a human family member.

Sally was cremated and we scattered her ashes off the beaten path atop a hill overlooking her favorite trail.  Her final resting spot is located between two Palo Verde trees somewhere in the mountains near our house where she used to love hiking off the leash.  When she used to go hiking with us she would run ahead on the trail and lay down and wait in the shade for us to catch up.  Katie painted a tombstone and wrote Sally a letter.  She put the letter and a picture in a ziplock bag and left it under the rock for Sally to read.

One year later and the paint still looks great!  The area has not been disturbed.

Gus with his "bacon" tongue and Katie having a little quiet time with Sally.

After we each let out our best Sally howl, Katie was all smiles again and ready to hike.

I love that Gus blinked.  Come on lil dude, pay attention!

Gus has blossomed into quite the awesome trail dog. 
He either follows right behind you or returns as soon as you say his name.

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time.  She rocks.

Once we get down to the main trail and close to the car, we let Natalie do a little hiking on her own.

All smiles!