We brought Ebony home at the age of 8 weeks in the summer of 1993 after going to visit a litter of black lab puppies with one of my mum's friends. We came home after reserving the last little girl and our friend eventually ended up with a golden retriever!
I'm sure people thought my parents were mad as at the time we were in the middle of a barn conversion/restoration and a family of four living in a caravan in the garden.
As a puppy Ebony spent fun-filled days playing with the builders while on their many coffee breaks and paddling in the stream that ran through the garden. As she grew up she and I totally trashed my mum's garden with our homemade agility course at which we practised religiously until all the grass had been ripped up
Ebony was especially good at the 'down stay' on the table in the middle of the course and I'll always remember the time she lay down on a picnic table alongside the river-the poor man with his lunch who suddenly found a soaking wet labrador on top of his newspaper and lunch!
Always a cuddle-bug, she was convinced she'd make a good lapdog and would gradually reverse her bum up onto you whilst sitting on the sofa.
She was my best friend who was always there for cuddles through my parent's divorce and the loss of my beloved grandparents, knowing just when I needed a sloppy kiss on the ear.
She had been suffering with hip dYsplasia and arthritis since the age of 9 but managed very well on anti-inflammatories and still loved to swim in the river and canal (she never did learn that swans are not to be played with!) and loved to carry the hugest sticks all the way home after a walk.
Last Tuesday she suffered a massive stroke which left her disorientated and unable to walk and although she improved slightly with an intensive steroid regime, the spark that made her the cheeky, fun-loving comedian we all loved had gone.
On Thursday this week, I was there to help the vet ease her to sleep in her own bed at home. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done but I'm so glad I was able to be there with her when she fell asleep.
Have fun over the Rainbow Bridge my little Ebony Pebble, you'll always be in my heart.
xxxxxxxx
Some old pictures of my girl
[IMG]
[/IMG]
And a couple more recent
[IMG]
[/IMG]
With one of her sticks
[IMG]
[/IMG]
[IMG]
[/IMG]
