Marley

Sept/Oct 99

Dear GRREAT,

I felt I needed to send this letter on behalf of Marley, who passed away early Thursday morning, June 10th, 1999. Words cannot express the loss we feel.

I'll never forget the day in March 1994 when he arrived to us.

He was so solemn. I had never seen a dog like him, for months he didn't wag his tail or seem to care whether he was petted or not. Marley was a good dog, well-mannered but not very loving. He was so very stand-offish. He never licked you and would never look into you eyes, not even for a second.

We were told his owners gave him up because they couldn't keep him contained, He sped out of windows and over fences. We had Marley a couple of months without incident and were beginning to believe there must have been a mistake in the previous owners information.

Then it happened, there had been a storm while we were gone and he broke head first through a wood privacy fence.

At first we thought it was separation anxiety, which some of it was, but as time went by we began to realize it was the storms that caused his destructiveness.

Normally be never touched a thing. Not flower beds, shoes, nothing. He just didn't do anything wrong. He was so easy to take care of and was not demanding. He was obedient (except for "come" when excited at times). He really was almost too good to be true - a perfect gentleman.

But when it stormed be was a different dog. He was beside himself. If we were home he was usually okay, a little nervous, but he would calm down. If it was a really bad storm we would sedate him when needed just to ease his stress. If we were gone, and if he could, he would escape and he would run blindly, aimlessly until we found him.

He amazed us at how determined and smart and strong he could be when he wanted to escape. We called him "Houdini." I truly believe be could have moved mountains if he needed to and ultimately I feel the stress he put himself though contributed to his early death. At my wits end, I decided I had to give him back to GRREAT. Each time I tried, they and my husband would talk me into giving him one more chance. At times it was trying and I wanted to give up but I'm so grateful they talked me into sticking it out.

As the years went by Marley transformed into a truly beautiful dog inside and out. Though he never got over his fear of storms and still destroyed and escaped when he could, he did blossom into a wonderful, loving, happy dog. He was probably one of the biggest suck-ups there ever was, and we miss him so. We loved him. Marley will always be with us, he stole our hearts and can never be replaced.

I wanted to thank GRREAT for bringing Marley into our lives and letting us make him a part of our family. While Marley was alive he spent every spare moment with us and we took him every place that would allow and then some. We went camping, swimming, hiking, you name it - we even saw wild herds of buffalo in Texas together. He was the best of friends, the most sincere of companions. Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts and I know Marley's too. What an unforgettable time we had together.

Sincerely, Sherri and Ken