“Ransom”- CH Coastalight Toodoggone Much CD MH ***
3/24/2007 – 6/17/2017
How does one put into mere words what a special lifelong friendship with a very special dog truly means? I find myself looking for you around every corner, waking up at night expecting to see your face at my bedside and sense your soft kisses, coming home after a rough day and you aren’t there to greet me. Life as I knew it has ceased to exist. You made every day brighter and the nights not nearly as long or dark. You answered to “Ransom”, “Handsome Ransom”, “Monkey”, “Monkey-Man”, “Hunk-A-Monk” and many other names…. You were mine and I was yours.
Our lives became intertwined over ten years ago. I anticipated your arrival long before your mother even knew you were coming. When I received pictures of you and your littermates, something stuck out about you, the dark blue collar boy. All I could do was convey what I was hoping for in a pup to your breeders, Judy Teskey and Wendy Tisdall and trust they would make the right choice for me. Of course, when I arrived on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and first laid eyes on you, I knew my gut feeling was spot on. For 3 days I played with you and your littermates, but couldn’t take my eyes off you and secretly hoped that you were the one they had picked for me. When I found out that you were their choice for me, as well, I was ecstatic, I knew it was fate and our incredible journey began!
You fit right in at home with the other dogs, kids and our goofy rules and picked up things so quickly. We had so much fun learning together. You were learning 24/7, not just when we called it training. You picked up all my idiosyncrasies, body cues, the tone of my voice and my demeanor. I was learning how to “read” you and get the most out of you. We slowly became a close-knit team. I tried hard not to ever blame you for our failures and you didn’t blame me. Lord knows we failed allot, but we worked through the difficulties. We turned failures into opportunities and became stronger together.
I never could have imagined where our journey would lead or the great people I would meet because of you. Some would say we had allot of success, but most weren’t there to see all the time we spent together to create those opportunities. Time that I now cherish even more that you aren’t here. It was certainly exciting to rack up so many achievements with you. An Obedience title, Derby win, skipping Junior and earning our first Senior and Master pass on the same day. Umpteen consecutive Master passes, including a title along the way, qualifying for 3 Master Nationals and finishing the only one I could get off work to actually stand beside you for. You finished a number of Qualifying’s and then stepped up to show me and many others that a Flat-Coat was truly capable of competing against very talented Labradors in the All-Age stakes. That Amateur 4th a few years ago was more than I had ever hoped for and I was so proud of you! The first Flat-Coat to achieve that in over 22 years! You made it deep into several other Amateurs and Opens, often surprising many who watched you, but those darned big water blinds kept getting us. That’s okay, I never held it against you… It was “our” issue together. You sure could mark birds though and I had so much fun watching you do what you loved.
Some within the breed referred to you as a “field dog”, like it was a bad thing, or something. Since some folks place such high value on a show championship, I decided, after retiring from field trials that we should give the dog show thing a shot. I knew you were a great representative of the breed, but others who valued that “Champion” title had not had the opportunity to see you, so we gave them a chance. Like everything else, you excelled at it and in just 4 weekends, at 8 years old, you finished your Conformation Championship with 4 majors. That was fun, but it was time to come home and enjoy retirement. Somebody had to hold down the couch.
While all the achievements were fun, it was the time spent together in the field, on the road and at home that I will cherish the most. You were my constant shadow. We became inseparable. While the other dogs were content doing whatever, you would not let me out of your sight. You were my special boy. The one who got to go with me to the store. The one I snuck food to when the others weren’t looking. The one who greeted me every day with a ball, toy, shoe, pillow or whatever you could find. You just loved to carry things and never tore anything up. You had a foot fetish…. I tried like crazy to keep you from licking my feet at the dinner table or while relaxing in the living room at night or getting ready for work in the morning, but you wouldn’t have it. I finally gave up trying to stop you and it became one of those quirks I miss so much about you. When you rode in the back seat of the truck, you would nudge me under the arm, just to get me to pet you or talk to you.
Who is going to trot alongside the mower for hours while I cut the grass now? Who is going to chase the neighbor’s ducks on the pond for 45 minutes straight without touching land and occasionally have “success” that I had to explain to the neighbors? Who is going to stand in the garage and stare at the shelf where I keep the Frisbees, hoping that dad has time to throw a few? Who is going to jump up on the bed and play bitey-face with me when I’m putting my socks and shoes on in the morning? Nobody was better at concealing the fact that they had a rock in their mouth, but I always knew with you. I could sense your presence in a dark room and you mine. I always knew what you were thinking and you could read me like a book.
While many other members of your breed shower affection on everybody they meet, you only had eyes for me and I for you. You were there to celebrate our greatest moments and you knew when I needed you just to be there. You were an 85 lb. lap dog, my constant companion, my best friend and you always will be. I love you with all my heart and will miss you until I see you again someday at the Rainbow Bridge, Monkey Man. Please wait for me.