Losing a beloved pet, a fixture that makes your yard special

Most of us have something in our yard that is very special to us. It might be your favorite tree. It could be an old-fashioned fragrant shrub that reminds you of your childhood. Whatever it is, the loss of it might create a great sense of sadness because you know this fixture in your yard will never be replaced.

A couple of weeks ago, my family lost a fixture in our yard. It didn’t have any flowers, leaves or roots. It had four paws, and he was covered with hair. Our 12-year-old golden retriever, Colby, succumbed to cancer and crossed the rainbow bridge.

Colby was a fixture in our yard. He loved being outside, and we spent countless hours in our backyard. Most of his time was spent chasing tennis balls, as most retrievers do, although Colby was more of a "collector” than a "retriever."

Something went wrong in our training when he was a puppy. Rather than bringing the ball back to me, he would catch the ball and drop it in a place of his choice in the yard. I would continue to throw the balls, and he would gather them all in a place of his choosing out in the yard. I became the retriever. I would walk out into the yard to the collection of balls as we traded places. Then I was required to throw them back to where he was waiting in the spot that I came from.

The weather had to be really bad to keep Colby and I from spending any time together in the yard. This was definitely a challenge in the winter. In the spring, summer and fall, it was a blessing. Most of my ideas and plans for my yard came to me while I was sitting on my deck throwing the tennis balls. He could not chase the tennis balls without a few breaks, especially as he aged. This allowed me time to sit back and let my imagination flow through my landscape.

Having a dog does create challenges in the yard. Dog ownership is definitely not compatible with having a perfect lawn. When they are puppies, they are very likely to dig unwanted holes. Sometimes the pH of their urine can kill the grass in spots. This problem is not easy to correct.

Puppies chew on almost anything they can get their teeth on. We left our puppies unsupervised in our yard only to find a couple of my favorite shrubs given a radical pruning they did not need.

We love our flowers, and we love our dogs. In our backyard, we have to take extra steps to protect the flowers from the dogs. I convert deer fencing to dog fencing. Deer fencing is six feet tall, so I cut it in half and then I secure it with thin bamboo stakes to keep the dogs from running through the beds with the flowers.

The problems are not the dog’s fault − they do what comes naturally and are just having fun. We need to make sure they are trained to our own individual standards so we can enjoy the yard together as pet owners.

My yard will always be a better place with a Golden Retriever in it even though the lawn and landscape will never be perfect. Besides his human family, Colby left behind an adopted brother, Cash, who is three years old. Our daughters convinced me to bring Cash into the family in late 2020.

They explained that Colby would be happier with a companion. They said I would be too, and when Colby went to heaven, Cash would ensure the hole in my heart was never completely empty. Now I know how right my daughters were.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Losing a beloved pet, a fixture that makes your yard special