Saying Goodbye to our sweet little dog Whiskey

It’s with an incredibly heavy heart that I share the passing of our dog Whiskey. We are all heartbroken that our pup is gone but so thankful that we had over 15 years with him. He passed away this winter and every time I’ve tried to write this, I’ve been a wreck. He will always hold a very special place in our hearts.

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Long-time friends of the blog may recall that I got him just a few months before I started writing here in 2009. He was a scrawny little dog with kennel cough, that had been moved from a kill-shelter in Ohio to an animal rescue in rural Ontario.

Once I got him back into good health (with lots of Homemade Dog Food meals), he became a feisty city dog, coming with me every day to the Toronto film office I worked in. He even went to the Toronto International Film Festival. I made him a Taco Halloween Dog Costume and Bat Halloween Dog Costume. We took a road trip to Maine, and went camping in Prince Edward County. I baked him a Nut-Free Dog Birthday Cake (which is still one of my all-time most visited blog posts, nearly 12 years later)

When I started dating Garrett, Whiskey quickly became “our” dog, as the little pooch was instantly attached. Often if Garrett was off on a day I was working, I’d hear about their drives around town doing errands or visiting family.

We moved to the country and Whiskey became a “farm dog”. He loved nothing more than to follow me around the garden, chase a few chickens and have a break on the sunny front porch.

We joked that he followed the sun through this old house, always finding a nice sunbeam for a nap.

Just as he had been my constant companion, he became the beloved buddy of our three kids. They all adored him as much as we did. He always had someone happy to give him an ear scratch, a cuddle on the couch or sneak him food scraps when mom wasn’t looking.

I’d be amiss not to mention Whiskey’s little “brother” Cola who happily enjoyed his retirement from farm life, happily living with my in-laws. They were best buds and still got to see each other often. By a strange coincidence, Cola passed a year prior to Whiskey on the exact same day. I like to think they’re reunited again.

I’m so thankful that Whiskey and I had so many great years together. I recently read somewhere that dogs are your best friend for a short time of your life, but you’re their best friend for their whole life. How lucky am I that I got to spend almost every day of his life with him, and I’ll carry a piece of him with me for the rest of mine. ❤️ Rest in Peace, little buddy.