As I said in my last post, I am the daughter of a letter carrier – mailman is the term used when I was growing up. My dad got bitten several times, and very severely too. In addition, there were other traumatizing events with dogs growing up and even one when I first met Mr. Red Door that reinforced my feelings about dogs. When visiting with friends that had dogs, I avoided them as much as possible. Even though Mr. Red Door grew up with dogs, having a dog was not something we ever entertained in this household.
Then about 4 and 1/2 years ago, Jay and Ang started talking about getting a dog. Honestly, back then my thoughts where – WHY?? You are young and not even married yet – a dog will tie you down. They smell, the leave hair all over the place, they do their messes in the yard and they have bad breath. Needless to say, I wasn’t at all excited.
But then this little guy came to them in November of 2007. With that black velvet face and soft golden fur, Brady was the cutest puppy I had ever seen in my life! Humm, I thought, as long as he doesn’t try to lick my face, maybe he’ll be OK. 
I slowly warmed up to him, and he learned he could cuddle me but not lick me. But very quickly, Brady and Mr. Red Door formed a bond almost as strong as the one Brady had with Jay and Ang. There were truly best buds!
Of course Brady didn’t stay that little for long. He started to grow…
And before we knew it, he was our 160 pound big boy.
If a few days went by and we hadn’t seen Brady, he might come here for a visit…
Or we made special trips to see him.
Even my parents who never had dogs, 
fell in love with Brady…
and Jen called him the love of her life.
I even let him up on my best sofa. He was our gentle giant.
Yes that gentle giant was indeed one of us. For a family that never had a dog before, we all loved him and adored him. He was part of our holiday plans and special events. He was always considered when making big family plans. Often myself or Mr. Red Door would be called upon to go to Jay’s house to let Brady out or to feed him. When Jay and Angela went on their honeymoon, I took over day duties and Mr. Red Door slept there at night so Brady didn’t have to be kenneled. When Jay stayed in the hospital overnight when Lili was born, once again, we took over the duties. It really wasn't a duty to us because we loved Brady so. In the last 7 months since Lili was born and I started going to there to care for her, Brady and I saw each other often. He greeted me when I came in the door, and he knew if he went to HIS couch, I would pet him before I tended to Lili. I often talked to Lili about him and pointed out what he was doing. He was so gentle with her. Recently she began to show an interest in him and he in her. When he sat still and let her attempt to pet him, I told him what a good boy he was. They were bound to become best friends in time.
But that wasn’t meant to be. This week Jay and Ang had to make the most difficult and painful decision of their lives and today our sweet dear Brady Boy went to doggy heaven. The last few days have been very emotional for all of us – especially Jay and Ang. They long ago made a pact that if they were ever faced with something so awful, they would choose to not let Brady suffer one moment. They honored that pact and right up to his last breath Brady was treated with love and compassion.
Our hearts are all broken. There is a huge void in our lives. We can’t believe that Brady won’t be waiting as we walk up the stairs. He won’t come running when we tell him Grampy is here. We hurt. For Jay and Ang, every facet of their lives has changed.
Brady enriched all of our lives and filled our hearts with joy. He was the most faithful companion Jay could have wished for. He was Angela’s cuddle bear in bed. And I always felt safe and protected when I was there alone with Lili and Brady. As Jay has said, “Given the task, he would have sacrificed himself for any of us without a shred of hesitation.”
Yes we hurt but we know Brady is in a better place – free of that dreaded cancer and he didn’t know the ravages of the awful disease. He left us our happy loved big boy.
Mr. Red Door left this message on Jay’s Facebook earlier today…
If Brady could talk, he might say:
Look not where I was
For I am not there
My spirit is free... See More
I am everywhere.
In the air that you breathe
In the sounds that you hear
Please Don't cry for me
My spirit is near .
I'll still watch over you
From the other side
I'll am now running
New friends by my side.
Rest In Peace sweet Brady boy.
You are gone from this earth, but you will live in our hearts for the rest of our lives! I will never love another dog as I loved you. EVER!
Brady on HIS couch. From here he would watch guard over the family.
Thank you as always for stopping by and making Behind My Red Door part of your day!
Edited 2/1/2010 - I have now closed comments for this post. I appreciate each annd everyone of the kind comments but now it is time to take a break. Thanks for understanding !!
Until next time – hugs, Grammy Linda
