Memorials & Tributes

Tango

Dearly missed since July 2024

Clarence

Deeply missed since July 2024

This boy. Max - the King of Cats. With me for 12+ years. Always gentle. Always wanting to be where I was, with at least one paw in contact with my body. Best traveler ever - open the door to the kitty carrier and he sidles in and makes himself at home - and then, "enjoys the ride" in the car. Greeted me EVERY time I came through the door and waited patiently to be greeted. A delight from the moment he came into my life. Took an unexpected turn of health a while ago and exited the earth this morning (8/5/2022) in a very peaceful way. I am so fortunate to have had him in my life. 

Debbie

Deeply missed since 2022

Click Here to See Molly Playing in the Snow!

Molly

2008-2002

Molly, you came into our lives when my son adopted you 9 years ago. You were so scared, but
soon learned that people loved you and you had a forever home. When I first met you I was a
little nervous because you were quite a bit bigger than my little dog. But you were such a gentle
giant and I fell in love with you right away. You looked like you were always smiling and would
get so excited when we walked in the room. I loved puppy sitting you whenever my son had to
go out of town for his job. When my son’s job transferred him to another state, we were so sad
to see him and you move. Sam always told me you were his world and he loved you so much.
He loved spoiling you. Every day he would send us pictures of you, Molly. He scheduled
everything around you. He had a humidifier for you in his room to help you breath and you had
your own car humidifier for traveling the 7 hour drive to visit us. Sam would always joke how
you would take up all the bed and leave him a small area (Ha! Ha! We’d always laugh about
that) Molly, you always would sit with me when I would visit and I Ioved looking into your big
eyes. You were such a sweetheart. When my son passed and went to Heaven last year, I
adopted you and brought you home with me. I didn’t want you to be alone. You were grieving
and I wanted to take care of you and let you know you would still be loved and have a loving
home. You were so special to my son and he loved you so much. You were such a joy to have
at our home. I have a little shih tzu (Sonny) and Molly, you were so gentle with him. You and
Sonny would sleep together on the couch when we were watching tv. But you were the first one
in the kitchen if I got up to get something out of the fridge. You could sleep through anything, but
if someone opened the refrigerator, you would be right there. Last summer we found out you
had an enlarged heart which was making breathing and walking more difficult, and you started
having fainting spells. but with medication we were able to help you. When you got tired you
would head to my bedroom to go to bed. Or, if I said time for bed, you would head right to the
bedroom. Molly, you were such a loving, gentle dog and so good natured, such a cuddle bug.
We finally had to say goodby to you and that has been the hardest thing. I love and miss you
my precious Molly. I miss your sweet smiling face and loving personality. My heart broke when
you crossed the rainbow bridge. But now you are healthy again and can run like a puppy again.
I know my son is holding you now and you are happy. I can’t wait to hold you both. You are
loved and missed my precious Molly.

CINNAMON

2008 - 2020

“Hi —
My name is Cinnamon. I am a puggle. Never heard of one? Well, my parents were a pug and a
beagle. I know I am cute. Everyone tells me so. So here is my story from mom’s point of view. I
may not agree with everything she is going to say, but here goes.
Cinnamon came into my life on Halloween 2009, two months after TerraNado crossed over the
Rainbow Bridge.
Homeward Bound of Minnesota was having an adoption event at Petco in Burnsville. I checked
out their website and made a list of the dogs I was sort of interested in. At the time Cinnamon
was not on the list. She had come into the system on Tuesday, was spayed on Thursday and
was adopted on Saturday.
My first encounter with a pug mix was a Chug (Chihuahua and Pug mix) quiet and laid back. I
figured a Puggle would be the same. NOT!! When I took her outside to get acquainted, she was
more interested in the grass and dirt. She was about a year old. Her previous owner was a
single mom and daughter. The daughter was supposed to take care of her, but it did not work
out. So, she was put up for adoption.
I was in for a surprise when we got to the car. Her energy level was in high gear. She was all
over the car on the drive back home. I was not sure what I had gotten myself into. She even
managed to shift the car into neutral or would open the passenger window. Not too frustrating
on the freeway. I fixed the window problem by activating the child lock for the windows. First
order of business was getting a seat belt for the little whirl wind.
When we got home she tore through the house like a streak of lightening. On the couch, on the
bed. That was going to have to stop right now. No dog on the bed. I went out and bought a crate
for her, she was not too crazy about that. When that did not work I got out Terra’s old bed. That
lasted until she managed to flip it and shredded the foam rubber bed. Needed to get something
that did not have foam rubber in it. Terra’s old toys were not long for this world after Cinnamon
got done with them. She shredded them just like the bed. Any new toys she got, she would
destroy the squeaker first and then proceed to make them look like the moths had gotten to
them. She was never happy with anything in one piece. She even managed to destroy a Kong
toy. Did not think that was possible. Then I dug out Terra’s toybox/bed. Cinnamon managed to
leave that in one piece to the end. I used the gate that I had for Terra to keep her corralled in
the kitchen at night or when I left the house for extended periods of time. She did have access
to the basement.
I decided obedience school might help. Cinnamon had other ideas. The first trainer we had,
Cinnamon really liked, because Amanda got on the floor and taught her tricks usually we were
the only ones there. The funniest one was playing dead. Only once did she bark and then flop
over. Amanda taught her how to sit pretty for treats. She got the hang of that pretty fast. As far
as down and sit. Whole different ballgame. To Cinnamon they were the same. Amanda got sick
so Dannie took over the class. Dannie was not an Amanda; she did not interact directly with the
dogs. Cinnamon found a boyfriend at class, Levi, he was a nine-month-old Alapaha Bull Dog
from the Southern US. He was one big and slow ambling dog. Never was in a hurry. Cinnamon

and Levi got into mischief on a regular basis. It is a wonder they both graduated. Cinnamon
decided using her sad eyes would get the diploma. It worked.
Her first trip to the Dog House at the Humane Society was over the Fourth of July. She
managed to eat all of the food and treats I had brought for her. They had to scrounge up more
food and treats. She was supposed to be losing weight. Did not work. She decided there was
always tomorrow.
I got a license to the dog park next to the Columbia Golf Course. It was a good-sized park, so if
it got too crazy at the north end we would walk to the south end and sit in the shade down there.
She would go sniffing along the fence and trees. What she was looking for I do not know. She
did find another boyfriend at the dog park by the name of Harry. He was a Scottish Wolf Hound.
Just a few sizes bigger than Cinnamon. Those two would chase each other around until one got
tired or bored. She did not wander too far from me. Once in a while I would be out of sight. She
would come running back to find me. I usually was picking up doggie doo just for something to
do while she was checking the perimeter of the park. There was always an abundance of
doggie doo to be picked up.
We would walk the neighborhood. I would collect cans, pickup change and anything that was
salvageable. Washed up the clothes and sent them to the Salvation Army. It is amazing what
you can find. Even got a sweatshirt and jacket out the deal. Cinnamon was usually sniffing
trees, posts, retaining walls and watering weeds as we went along. She would always seem to
pick the tallest grass to do her dump. Really tough to do a proper job of clean up. We would
walk for at least two hours somedays and shorter walks other days. We would go walking in the
winter. Somedays it was a little hairy trying to walk on sidewalks that were not shoveled. The
street was a safer place most days. I usually had a bottle of water for Cinnamon — she was a
water dog. She could drink and drink and then pee forever. She enjoyed meeting other people
on the walks, she always managed to get a scratch behind the ears. No treats.
We did the Walk for the Animals. She did OK on the bus. Every now and then she would jump
off the seat to see what was happening on the floor. She always managed to find a nose or butt
to sniff. Once off the bus, it was time for action. She had no patience when I was signing all the
paperwork. Either she would scoot under the table or she would put her paws on the table and
try to take the tablecloth off. She thought that was a waste of time. Need to get the show on the
road. One year her excitement got the best of her. She was under a table too close to the table
leg — she wacked her tail on the table leg and hurt her tail. It did not to the Pug curl anymore. It
did not stop her from being her adorable self. It would curl sometimes when she was walking.
She was more interested in what was on the ground as we walked than any of the other dogs.
Could not let dropped treats go uneaten. We did that for eight years. We also went to St. Cloud
to do the ALS walk in memory of my cousin, Wayne, who had that awful disease. Cinnamon
liked it there, she was the center of attention. The last year we did the walk in St. Cloud it rained
the entire time. I had Cinnamon out for the pre walk stuff but put her back in the car. Too wet. I
did walk around Lake George once and called it quits. Too wet.
In 2018 our walks around the neighborhood took a bad turn. Cinnamon was attacked by a Pit
Bull mix and another dog. The woman who was watching the dogs just had hip surgery so she
could not grab them before they crossed the street and attacked her. The Pit Bull mix clamped
onto her head and would not let go. I hit it and yelled at it. It was in March so there was water
and slush everywhere. By the time, the lady finally got the dogs under control, Cinnamon was

wet, shaking and totally scared out of her wits. I called 911 gave them the address of the house
with the dogs and told them I was going back to my house with Cinnamon. I wrapped her up in
my vest and started to carry her back to the house. Gave that up, she was too heavy. She did
OK walking. I tried drying her off when I got home, but Animal Control showed up. She was not
too happy with everyone poking at her and trying to take pictures. When the police showed up
she was even more reluctant. My vet was not available to look at her, so I took her to the
emergency vet in Blaine. It took forever before she came back out. She was pretty groggy and
cranky. When we got home I let her sleep in the chair. I left her there when I went out to do
errands.
After that she did not like strangers if I was not with her or barking dogs. When we would be
walking and there were dogs barking, she would want to walk in the street. It made for tough
times to get her nails trimmed, defurred or make her vet visits.
I did board her twice after the attack but each time it got worse, to the point where they would
not let her come back. She would not even go out for potty breaks or the walks she used to like
to do. So no more extended vacations.
Since she was attacked her personality changed a lot. She was not the happy go lucky dog on
walks. She still did her sniffing, but she was very leery and would not want to go too far or too
long. She started having trouble going up and down stairs and walking for long distances. She
would not even get in the car. If I tried to help her into the car, she would try and bite me. So
much for that. I finally had to find a vet that would make house calls. She was not to crazy about
that either.
In May she started doing a lot of pacing and then stand in the corner just standing there. The vet
figures she may have dementia. I had my doubts. She started losing weight, would not eat, if
she did it came back up. I think she may have had brain cancer. She went downhill fast. In a
month’s time she lost a lot of weight.
On June 25 th I had to make the hard decision to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge. She stopped
eating, if she did eat anything there was a good chance it would not stay put. She crossed over
at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday.
On June 26 at 5:15 p.m. Cinnamon crossed the Rainbow Bridge into Doggie Heaven. I sure to
miss her. I have to get used to no more food all over the place, including my shoes by the back
door. You did not believe in standing by the dish and eating. You had to spread it around to get
better flavor on your food.
Even after you crossed the Rainbow Bridge you were still tugging at people’s heart strings.
Thank you for 10.5 crazy years we had together. But you were worth it.
See you in heaven someday.”

Jasper

Our home has become very quiet. Last week, Danny & I had to make the tough decision, that it was time for Jasper to find relief from his pain, struggles & frustration.

He was 11 years, 3 months  & 7 days. I had him for just over 11 years, as I got him in May of 2006.  And that summer he was diagnosed with CNM or muscle myopathy, a genetic defect, affecting his muscle development. I really had no idea how to raise a dog, let alone a handicapped one. Yet he defied the odds & lived much longer than anyone expected. 

Most of his years were pretty normal, with bad spells where he couldn't walk very much for a couple of days at a time. But he always bounced back. His resilience inspired me every day! He lived for love & happiness! (And snuggles & treats!)

He loved going on walks when the weather was mild. He also loved his feline brothers, when they were living, even tho they picked on him. He also loved making friends with other dogs, but he loved making friends with humans even more! He definitely had many special friends. He loved greeting his pals with his cute little hops & silly bark.

He truly was the happiest dog, even when he was having a tough time. 

The last couple years he started to have a lot less mobility. And this past winter was definitely a struggle for all of us. I had a vet who specializes in older dogs, come to the house in April. She was wonderful & hopeful that there might be medication that could help. But it was a temporary fix. He had a couple of good weeks but started to decline very quickly in the last couple of weeks of his life. We had been carrying him out for quite some time & sometimes he wasn't wanting to get up at all. His back legs just weren't strong enough  to get him up or hold him up anymore. He had become so skinny, especially his back end & legs. We couldn't watch his frustration any longer. As heartbreaking as it was, I know it was the best thing for him.

I know I did everything I could to help him. I dedicated my life to helping him live stress free, because stress is what triggered the bad spells, when he was young. 

I helped him because he helped me. I got him during a very difficult time in my life. When I was sad & broken, he gave me a reason to keep going. He always was my comfort when life was too much. He truly was my best friend. 

Now he is free to run & jump like he never could on earth. I hope he's chasing around Max & Jack in a meadow! 

He definitely will always have a piece of our hearts. We loved him so much!  

Chloe

1998-2018

Reggie

2004 - 2018