In Loving Memory

Grieving the loss of a pet has its ups and downs but one thing that brings me comfort is looking at photos of happier times. As time passes, looking at the photos bring tears to my eyes more often than not but I know Scottie Mom friends miss her as much as I do. That's why I share my favorite memories of Heather as I remember them, in hopes I can offer you comfort as well. Feel free to tell me about what you loved most about Heather Beather in the comments below.

One of the first photos taken of Heather after she joined the family in April 2011 and one I've come to cherish. Heather, like most Scottish Terriers, loved to scratch her back on the green grass below.

Heather's first birthday party after joining the Scottie Mom family. She would have been about 7 years old in this photo. Each year, I bought Heather (and Mr. K, of course!) a special doggie birthday cake to celebrate the occasion. As rescues, I don't know their official birth dates but I always celebrate their birthdays on October 25.

The Scottie nose ALWAYS knows! Heather was notorious for being able to sniff out food, no matter where it was hiding. No obstacle could get in her way once she had found an interesting scent. Heather went to great lengths to make sure her belly was full at all times...going so far as breaking in to trash bins whenever the opportunity presented.

Heather was an easy travel companion. She loved to go for rides and never turned down an opportunity to see new places. Here, she's checking out accommodations in Connecticut. We journeyed all the way from Atlanta, Georgia to Providence, Rhode Island by car to spend the weekend with family.

Heather's favorite destination was to visit The Overtreater. It was never hard to get her to smile or pose for a photo whenever he was around. In fact, she typically sat immediately in place and waited a little impatiently for her reward. This photo was taken in 2012 in Belmont, North Carolina.

I hardly ever let my dogs off leash but on this trip to a dog-friendly beach in Charleston, I decided to let Heather loose for a few minutes. She chased after a family friend who was running down the beach with Mr. K on leash. My heart nearly stopped. I had never seen her move so fast. I called out to her and asked if she wanted a treat. Heather stopped in her tracks and came bounding back with the happiest look I ever saw on her face. 

This photo never fails to crack me up because it shows just how Heather felt after one too many trips to the V-E-T. Much to her dismay, Heather had to wear the cone of shame more often than either of us would have liked but she truly was a trooper and even marched happily into the V-E-T up until the very end. This photo was taken after a mass was removed from Heather's tail in 2014.

Did I mention Heather loved road trips? Here she is smiling away during one of our pit stops.

I'm convinced Heather was a natural model. She never minded the camera capturing her every move (hello, treats!) and she always gave me a little grin to complete the shot.

Even when work took me far away from home, Heather never held it against me. She knew my goal in life was to work at home with her by my side and to still contribute to important causes close to my heart (with enough left over to feed her treat habit, of course!). In this photo, taken in 2014, Heather and Mr. K traveled with me to Tennessee for work.

Heather loved to put her chin to the ground and use her back legs to scoot forward to give herself the perfect chin scratch. 

Every day that I had with Heather was like Christmas but I especially loved spending the holidays together. I once stuffed a pink stocking full of treats just for Heather. She never liked toys so treats were always the way to this Scottie girl's heart.

I bought Heather a stroller not long after her 11th birthday. Though she seemingly was fine, I noticed she did not like to take long walks like Mr. K does. In fact, she preferred to take care of business and get back to the air conditioning inside!

Taken just before I learned Heather's cancer had returned, here she is exploring a dog park she, Mr. K and I discovered within walking distance of our house. (How I lived here for years without finding it is beyond me...)

Much of the time in those last months, you couldn't even tell Heather was sick. She was in such good spirits, always looking for food and still loved to roll around in the grass. I found myself hoping against all odds she'd beat cancer once more.

I moved the human bed to the bottom level of the Scottie House so that Heather did not need to walk as far to go outside - especially when nature called in the middle of the night those final months. While the bed certainly was crowded between myself and four dogs, I wouldn't have traded those nights for anything in the world.

Perhaps the hardest to see, this is one of the last photos taken of Heather before she passed on Friday, August 26, 2016. Though she couldn't walk, her Scottie spirit was very much alive. And my hope is to make sure that spirit never fades.

Though this photo was taken years before she earned her wings, I knew early on the Heather really was an angel on Earth.

The are hundreds of other "favorite" photos and even home videos of Heather that I could share and maybe in time, I will. For now, my focus is honoring sweet Heather and it all starts with dozens and dozens of homemade blueberry muffins. Stay tuned for more details. Until then, we'll leave you with this special message about Heather Beather from our friends with The Whippety Wood...