Candy Mae Sutor

Candy, our beloved buddy passed away on March 22, 2012. There have been no blog posts for a few days because I just couldn't make myself sit down and write what I needed to say about the most wonderful dog I ever knew. I will cry as I write this because I have cried every time I thought  about writing it. My dear friend Mike Blythe posed the unanswerable question about what is it about middle aged men and their dogs. Mike, I hate to break this to you but we are old men. Do the math. I am 58 years old so to imply this is middle age I would need to live to be 116. Not going to happen. So old men and dogs. Do our dogs give us a glimpse of old age and our impending mortality? Do we see in them what life holds in store for us? I personally can't look that far ahead. I think maybe it is just companionship. No offense to Nancy or Carol but being retired from the daily grind of work is isolating. There is less opportunity to interact with others and our dogs fill some of that void. They are always happy to see us and willing to listen to any silly thing that flies out of our mouths.

I don't know what I was saying here but clearly Candy is listening and paying attention to every word. I remember the moment this was taken she just came over laid her head on my leg and gave me that it's time for you to pet me look. I complied and so wish I could do so again right now. So that was Candy lesson number one. Sometimes when you want attention, if it won't come to you then you have to get off your ass and go to it.

Candy had a best friend and his name was Beau. He is our son John's brother in law and our adopted son now. Candy loved him more than anyone including us. When Beau would come over she would sing and dance at the door waiting for him to come in and pet and hug her. We didn't allow Candy on the furniture but here she is on the couch with her head laying in Beau's lap. So lesson number two from Candy, rules are made to be broken and when there is a new person in charge you are not responsible for telling him what the rules are. It was always funny when we would leave home Candy would stand at the front door and watch us leave. Sometimes we would get a mile or two down the road and remember we left something home we needed. We would pull back in the driveway and run into the house and there she would be taking a nap on the sofa. Her head would lift up enough to have a look at us and then she would just lay back down. Candy lesson number three, when you misbehave and get caught no point in stopping what you are doing you are already in trouble.

Candy loved to hunt in the yard and her favorite thing to chase was squirrels. We had a bird feeded off the back deck and when a squirrel climbed up in the feeder we would tell Candy: "Your friend is out there." She would go to the door and bark at the squirrel and he would run away for a few minutes. When he came back we would say it again and he most likely wouldn't run because the dog had not come out of the house last time. We would open the door and she would run off the deck and chase the squirrel. She managed to catch two during her lifetime. She caught the ones who couldn't decide which tree to run up. Candy lesson number four- indecision kills. Like one of our granddaughters says: "Pick a choice!" At the end we would open the door Candy would take a few steps out on the deck, see the squirrel running away and return to the house. She would also take a moment for a quick pee after all their are spaces between those boards and it is outside the house. Candy lessons five and six are don't work too hard (you wanted the squirrel out of the feeder catching one was extra credit) and never pass up the opportunity to use a bathroom. Old age will teach you that lesson sometimes with sad personal consequences.

Candy loved to ride in the truck. It was especially wonderful when it was warm enough for her to ride with her head out the window. We would drive slow enough that she could ride that way in comfort while she and I ran errands. When we got to where we were going and she had to stay in the truck she would bark until I came back. I think it was usually so I would remember to bring her a treat. I think her all time favorite was slim jims. She would have loved motorcycles and the feel of the wind in her face.

We buried her in the front yard so we would have to go by her everytime we came and went from home. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we were working on the meadow down below the house planting trees. The trees were being planted on a 30 foot by 30 foot grid and over the course of two days with the help of my two brother, my helper Ethan, a John Deere tractor with a post hole digger and Carol we planted 545 trees. About noon on Tuesday my brother David was drilling a post hole when he hit the edge of a rock about a foot under ground. He could have just moved over a bit and made the hole and moved on. He decided to investigate and found a rock about the size of a large laundry basket. Most people who do not live this part of Illinois would think that is no big deal. It is. Around here we have dirt not rocks. We spent an hour we should have been planting trees to dig that  rock out by hand and with the help of two tractors with loaders. It is now the marker for our dear Candy's grave. I have to think she had a paw in this as over the two days of drilling holes that is the only rock we hit. If the hole had been over two inches the hole would have missed it and we would have never known it was there.

When I die the plan is that I will be cremated and my ashes will be spread out here at the place Carol and I built our home. It is my wish that they spread some of my ashes where Candy is buried so I can once again be with my dog. RIP Candy Mae.

So maybe you are wondering did I cry as I wrote this. Yes, I had to stop several times to regain my composure. It is a wound that will never completely heal. It is tough to lose your Buddy.