"Feature Friday – Sweetness- We'll Miss You"

Howdy Folks,

A dozen years ago she came bouncing up our lane, tail wagging, eyes shining and her heart looking for love. I was immediately smitten. My first words to her were, "Hello Sweetness!" I found out later that day she'd been hanging around a neighbor's house for a while, he had tried to find her owner, could not and did not want to keep her. Ravishin' Robbie was away for the day so I had time to settle her in, clean and shine her up,  then add my own pleading eyes to Sweetness' at just the right moment when Robbie came home. Of course Robbie melted and Sweetness joined our family. We did continue to try to find her owners thinking no one could abandon such a wonderful spirit, to no avail. Our Veterinarian thought Sweetness was about three at the time.

Sweetness took to Robbie right away and they became best friends in about 5 seconds. She was never far from Robbie and, unless trail riding with me, she could be found on Stripped Chair in the office with Robbie. For years she served as Robbie's sounding board.

Sweetness loved opening her Christmas presents

Sweetness was the most adventurous of all our dogs, ready to dive into any endeavor with her wagging tail and gleaming eyes, full of spirit and eagerness. She loved going away, and she went with us on our Competitive Trail Riding and other horsey adventures. She loved trail riding and logged thousands of miles trotting along, never straying. There were even a few times she kept us out of harm's way on the trail.

I remember a time when Robbie and I were riding alone in a new place, she on Mr. Dix and me on Diablo. We came upon an old car in the woods and Diablo was having no part of it. All at once Sweetness trotted around us and that scary old car, stopped and looked back at Diablo, danced a little while staring at Diablo and, catching me off guard, Diablo walked on right up to Sweetness. As soon as we all passed the car, Sweetness fell in behind Robbie and Mr. Dix. It was an amazing thing to experience. And she's done that exact thing on other occasions.

She and Tigger were best of friends too, romping about, laying in the sun together. Often they could be seen grooming each other. We would laugh when we saw them heading down the trail to explore together. A bit like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.

Sweetness was a pretty good watch dog too, especially when it came to Robbie. Having our office in our home it was common to have sales people, customers and other folks drop in. If Sweetness was not sure about them, she never barked or growled, but would position herself firmly between Robbie and whomever she didn't quite trust.

She gave up trail riding a few years ago, not long after we moved to Virginia, but continued to be Robbie's devoted office pal and Tigger's best friend. And my Sweetness.

Yesterday Sweetness went to Heaven ... and for all the years of her love, trust and support we knew she should be this week's Feature Friday. Feature Friday is devoted to "People & Horses Helping Horses & People" and over the years Sweetness has helped many horses get comfortable with trail riding. She helped Robbie with that too, not to mention the hours of office help. She helped me too, to embrace sweetness. Everyone who met Sweetness always said, "She's so sweet." I know she's in heaven helping others now too. But we will miss her.

Sweetness loved joining us for Coffee Clutch with Kessy & the gang

Thank you for picking us when you were looking for a new home, Sweetness. ~ Dutch Henry