We miss our boys every day. Thanks for sharing our life Boomer & Alinak

[qnr]

Our boys Boomer and Alinak - taken from a decade-old web site, when they were still young:cry:

Alinak's personal data sheet

Al's theme song, sung to the tune of "The Beverly Hillbillies"

Come and listen to my story 'bout a dog named Al,
a poor misguided pup, they couldn't keep him out of jail.

And then one day while he was contemplating doom,
along came a pack to forever ease his gloom!

The Ross clan that is...
Terry & Karen...
in their Mercury

Name: Alinak.
Nicknames: Al, Nakkers, Banana, banananak, batnak, WhooWhooMan & more.
Breed: Husky/Malamute

Rescued: August 3rd, 1995 from the Winnemucca, Nevada animal shelter (Hi Sherry & Pam). He was approximately one-year-old at that time. We think that Al knew he was going to be our dog. We had stopped by the animal shelter about one week before we actually decided to get him. At that time, he was quiet, and just smiled at us, while all of the other dogs were going crazy barking. When we decided to get him, he seemed to recognise us, and came to the front of the pen. Might be my imagination, but I think he knew he was going with us.
Sign: We're guessing that he is a Leo (although he thinks he is an Aries, with all of his head-butting).
Height: 26" Weight: 90# Hair: Black, white & buff Eyes: Brown
Distinguishing features or tattoos: Batman mask across eyes and perpetual laugh on face.
Favorite Foods: Meat, dog bisquits, unidentifiable goodies (preferably buried in the snow since the previous Autumn.) Much pickier than Boomer, but occasionally surprises us - would never have guessed that he likes broccoli.
Favorite Things to do: Running, eating (see favorite foods), chasing rabbits, eating (see favorite foods), chewing on bones, eating, running away from Terry. Begging for more to eat.
Favorite Saying: "Honestly Terry, selective hearing runs in my family."
Motto: "Let's go!"

Boomer's personal data sheet

Boomer's theme song, sung to the tune of "Flipper"

His name is Boomer, Boomer - He Lived in a world of confusion.

His own home an illusion,

with his old family.

Now Boomer, Boomer - Lives in the lap of dog lux-ury,

But he's grown quite a tummy,

'cause he loves his treats...

Name: Boomer Von Garner
Nicknames: Boomer, Boom-Boom, Boomie, Boombox, Mister Lots-a-doughnuts, tubby, Sir Harfs-A-Lot & more
Breed: Malamute/Samoyed/Wolf

Rescued: December 1995, from the Winnemucca, Nevada animal shelter. He kind of thought he was on vacation at the time. Was happy enough to eat our Christmas treats and slurp some eggnog from an unguarded cup on the coffee table; But after a while, it was basically: "Well, thanks guys, you're nice people, and I've had fun, now it's time to head back home. See ya!" Took us a while to track him down. He had made his way back to his old home, which was was about 5 miles away, through industrial and railroad yards, and the trackless, barren wastes of (oh, wait, I'm thinking of some of the casinos in Winnemucca, sorry)... Anyway, he did manage to find his way home, but nobody was there. When they came home, there he was, patiently waiting, covered in icicles.

Even then, we didn't get him back for a while, because shortly after getting back to his old home he took off and started gallivanting about the countryside with his doggie friends, and he wasn't seen again for two days.
Birthday: Nov. 27th, 1990.
Sign: Sagittarius
Height: 32" Weight: 135# Hair Color: Black & white Eyes: A sensitive Golden Brown.
Favorite foods: CHEESE!, meat, spaghetti, pizza, stew, goulash, ice cream, cookies (preferably lemon filled), doughnuts, vegetables, hamburgers, barbeque, fried rice, teriyaki, egg rolls, curry, (and more, but Geocities only provides us with 2 megabytes of storage space).
Favorite saying: "Nice place. Where's your couch?"
Motto: "Yes, I am wonderful, aren't I? And yes, you may adore me."

Boomer left us July 6th, 2004, Alinak left us July 29th, 2006. Thanks for letting me ramble on about them...

[MoseyWalker]

1. wow

that is a great post.

[qnr]

2. Thank you. They were great personalities n/t

[lavenderdiva]

3. awww... your boys look adorable...

it is SO darned hard when we lose our furry babies. I love that your boys had webpages!! And I love that they were rescues- both of mine are/were rescues. Libby is still with us, but Emma passed away earlier this year. its still hard.

I really believe both Alinak and Boomer were meant to be yours. Their rescue stories are wonderful, and I'm so glad you shared that! :pals:

[qnr]

5. Ah isn't it though. I know just how you feel about Emma

How is Libby? Al took it pretty hard when Boomer left (by that time, Al was almost totally deaf & blind and really depended on his "big brother").
:pals:

[lavenderdiva]

10. Libby and Emma are the 2nd 'set' of rescues that I have adopted...

Sadie and Oliver were the 1st set. All of these dogs have been parti-variety cocker spaniels. When I had Sadie and Ollie, Ollie passed away first. Ollie was like a sweet old man, and was very frail and cold before he passed away from pneumonia. So he always wore a sweatshirt, to keep him warm. When he passed away, I removed his sweatshirt and collar. I took both of those items home, and Sadie was there to greet me. She smelled Ollie's shirt and collar, and you could just tell, she was crestfallen that her brother (Ollie & Sadie were littermates) had passed away. Immediately, she went to the spot on my bed where Ollie always slept, and wouldn't get up. You could just tell that she was depressed.

After Sadie passed away, I adopted Libby from cocker spaniel rescue. A few months later, I adopted Emma as a playmate for Libby. But Libby let it be known from the start, that she wasn't too keen on the idea. She rather liked being THE dog. But she tolerated Emma, and learned to like her. After Emma passed away, I was sure that Libby would react similarly to Sadie's reaction. We let Libby smell Emma's shirt, and all Libby did was a sort of 'hmmph, good'. Nothing at all like Sadie. Ever since Emma's passing, Libby has absolutely reveled in being the only dog. To the point that we feel we shouldn't adopt another dog until after she leaves us. She has made her point loud and clear that she likes things this way, and she waited long enough for it to be this way. No words. But she speaks very clearly. You understand, I'm sure.

All dogs get their message across very clearly. And I think its so interesting how different their personalities are from one another- :hug: hugs to you because I know your heart is hurting. And I wish I could make it better...

[marzipanni]

4. Oh, qnr, I always wish our dog friends lived longer

You made a lovely tribute to Boomer and Alinak, they sound like they were characters, and a lot of love was reflected all around.
We had a most unique girl, Billie girl, whose mom was Malamute/Australian shepherd (looked like a Border collie) and dad was a Blue heeler. Her only "fault" was the constant shedding of her winter long underwear, as I called it (and that wasn't her fault). She died in my arms at 13 1/2 near our late evening campfire beside Lake Tahoe three years ago. My husband, son, and I were missing her a lot, and I looked at the local SPCA website and found a dog who reminded me of Billie.....
Sally will have been a member of our family for three years in October.
Something is definitely missing when a dog (or two) isn't part of the family.


(yeah, I know cat people, or a cat...or two cats... ;) )

[qnr]

7. It seems so unfair. We're all carbon-based lifeforms, why do their lives

have to be so short. I'm happy to hear about Sally, your new friend. People ask if they're replacements.... hmmm Can Billie, Alinak or Boomer be replaced? I'd say no, just new friends that help fill the void.

I agree about the missing part. However, temporarily at least, we're going to go back to traveling for a while, so we don't have new friends yet.

[marzipanni]

12. Happy trails

and soon come, happy tails

[driver8]

6. What a great post and a wonderful tribute to your friends...

We lost our boy Cody last June. He was eleven and a half and we figured we had a couple of more years with him; then his back legs quit working. It came on slowly and I guess we didn't realize how bad his condition was. The vet checked him over when we first noticed the problem, gave him some painkillers and we figured that was that. In the mean time to relieve some of his pain, I took him for accupuncture (which really seemed to work.)

Anyhow, one night I went to let him outside and he couldn't stand up by himself. I had to slip a towel underneath him and pull him up. I knew right then that the end was near. I slept on the floor next to Cody the last night he was with us. As soon as I would doze off, Cody would give me a nudge as if to say, "Pet me just a little while longer...". He was such a special boy. My wife said that he was "my dog" -- that he had bonded to me and that was true. He followed me everywhere.

Cody kind of adopted us...he was about 5 years old when we got him. We were at my wife's college reunion and while we were there, we saw a guy walking four dogs. We went over to talk to him and he told us that all of the dogs needed homes. My wife sat down on a bench and Cody walked right over to her, put his head in her lap, and looked up at her. He had a black patch on one eye and was such a handsome boy. My wife looked at me and said, "Can we take him home? I had wanted a dog for quite some time but my wife wasn't too sure. We were in the process of planning our wedding and had a lot going on. Cody knew who he had to convince.

We adopted another dog shortly after Cody left us and I love him, too. But it has been over a year, now, and I miss Cody every single day.

(Sorry I hijacked your thread...)

Cody

[qnr]

8. What a wonderful story. You didn't hijack it, you enhanced it. I know

just how you felt towards the end. Al's and Boomer's took a lot longer. I'd think I was prepared for it one day, and the next day I'd find myself quietly bawling to myself on the walks. We too slept with them on their last days.

Cody was beautiful, and I understand perfectly about missing him every single day.

[Haole Girl]

9. What great dogs they were!

I love the stories...they both sounded very smart! Thanks for sharing this. :)

[qnr]

11. And thank you for visiting and helping me remember them :) n/t

[livetohike]

13. Crying with you qnr - thanks for posting these beautiful tributes

to Al and Boomer :cry: and a big :hug: for you.

I'm remembering all my dogs with laughter and tears right now.

[qnr]

14. Thanks livetohike. I've seen you mention Ranger in the past, a big

:hug: to you too.