Wed., June 6, 2012 - Handsome Hardee: 03-12-2005 - 05-08-2012

Over 4 weeks ago on Tuesday evening, May 8th, at 7:45 pm, our world came crashing down as we held our boy and felt his heart stop.  Our house is empty.  We are numb, and our hearts seem broken forever.  Hardee was our boy, our teammate, our sweet little Bubs, our purpose, our everything.  We were unashamedly head-over-heels in love with him, and we will miss him forever.

Hardee came to us at almost 11 weeks of age, the cutest little bundle of dark brown and white ever.  He stole our hearts instantly.  Some will say HH wasn't a real Portuguese Water Dog because he never counter surfed, never ruined anything that wasn't his, or never got into the trash.  We say he was perfect and good.  Our kitchen trashcan is only 19" tall, has no lid, and Hardee never got into the trash even when left to free range at 1.5 years old while I was working for 10.5 hours straight.  He truly was perfect.

Hardee was our first PWD, our first breed champion, our first performance dog.  In between Jim's deployments, he and Hardee trained agility to reestablish their bond.  At the age of 3, Hardee starting blossoming when he and Jim started competing in agility.  Jim and Hardee only had a couple agility trials under them when Jim deployed again.  While Jim was gone, Hardee and I competed in obedience, rally and water.  When Jim returned, he became our chief track-layer for tracking, and we both certified as Hardee's handler for his therapy work.

Hardee became our purpose and we tried to show him the best life possible.  Hardee loved to train and trial, with agility and water being his favorite venues.  His enthusiasm for life was undeniable.  Hardee rarely barked, but he could not control himself when it came to something he loved doing.  So, he barked while running agility.  He barked at the lake or pool while waiting for his bumper to be thrown.  He barked on the back of the boat, and he barked while giving chase, whether it be another dog he was playing with or chasing his ball to retrieve.  Hardee just loved life, and he made the most of it.

Hardee's purpose was many.  He became our teacher, and he taught by example.  He taught us all things PWD and introduced us to the strange but wonderful world of dog shows, dog trials, and dog sports.  He taught us the depth of a dog's world.  He taught us to appreciate the tiniest of accomplishments and to be happy throughout it all.  He taught us to live in the moment, and to realize what was truly important.  He taught us joy even when faced with overwhelming adversity.  He taught us to love life and to live life to the fullest even though that life may be short.  He taught us perseverance and to keep that fighting spirit until the end.  He taught us what a true hero is.

Hardee was a true water dog to the very end, and he had a fabulous last day.  He went for a long, slow ride with his Dad around our neighborhood, without his seat belt, going from window to window with his head hanging out.  He had delicious treats for lunch.  He swam, jumped, barked, and retrieved his favorite bumper in the pool that afternoon.  He came to life in the pool, and the cold water helped to slow the hemorrhaging making our decision that much harder.  He had his favorite dinner, burger and fries, and ice cream for dessert.  Special thanks goes out to our vet friend who came to our house that evening to help us release Hardee from his cancer. 

Many people have helped us along our journey with Hardee.  Thank you to you all.  Not only have you been a source of information and guidance for us, you have also supported us and lifted us up along the way.  Also, thank you to all who emailed, texted, tried to call, sent cards and flowers, generously donated money to the Portuguese Water Dog Foundation, sent condolences on Facebook, etc.  I will read and answer them all soon.  Thank you for your patience and understanding at this time.  Your thoughtfulness and generosity is greatly appreciated, and a testament to the wonderful people brought into our lives through our boy.

We loved Hardee deeply, and he is still ingrained in all we do.  We find ourselves still looking for him everywhere, thinking about his food and pill times, reaching for him in our sleep, waking and looking to check his nose right away, etc.  We find ourselves still spelling many words or using our shortened versions of words or using our hand signals for words, all because of our super smart boy who watched us like a hawk, listened to our every word, understood what we said, and I swear could read our minds.

Farewell and safe harbors, our sweet Bubs.  We will love you forever, and we long for the day when we will be together again.  Until then, swim, jump, retrieve, bark, and run all the agility you want at the Rainbow Bridge.  The yellow contact zone no longer matters there, so we know that will bring you even more joy.  May there be no tables in your agility field to slow you down.  Your nose is now healed so you can track once again.  I hope you find joy in following all the heavenly scents.  Look for us and we will find you again.


On winged paws, nasal cancer free, and still perfect - Happy, Heroic, Handsome Hardee

CH MACH2 Vindouro's Built To Withstand VCD2 RAE MXS MJC MXF T2B THD CWD GROM

The top picture was taken at Hardee's last agility trial a couple days before he passed.  The picture of Hardee jumping in the pool to retrieve his favorite bumper was taken only 3.5 hours before he left us for the Rainbow Bridge.