Category: Max

ruby tuesday — 2008 – 2024

whbeebe3 Comments
Age 7 — 2015

We sent Ruby yesterday to join her companion Max. Max had left us back in July 2015. She could no longer stand, let alone walk, and slept nearly the entire time over the weekend and Monday. Yet she still recognized when Annie was getting fed and would raise her head, letting us know she wanted some food as well. We lavished her with peanut butter laced with her final medications, as well as little treats. And lots of rubs and kisses.

And she still smiled that sweet Ruby smile when she was awake.

Ruby Tuesday and Dreamboat Annie — 2015

Ruby leaves behind her companion Annie, who it shocks me to realize is nine years old, and will be ten next Valentine’s Day.

Max and Ruby Tuesday — 2011

No tribute to little Ruby would be complete without a photo of her with her companion Max. Ruby was always friendly with her companions, both canine and feline, but Max was her first, and a bit more special to her than all the others I think. She always remembered Max, and if I made the mistake of mentioning his name in her presence, she would always look up as if expecting him to re-appear. Dogs never forget, especially female Labs. I saw the same behavior with Katie when Rhett left us.

While we still have a vibrant Annie, and six healthy cats, there is a Ruby-sized hole in the household at the moment. She will be missed, as they have all been.

sweet 16

whbeebe

Ruby turned 16 back in late August. Unfortunately I was preoccupied with other personal matters (surgery, COVID), so the exact date skipped past me. Today I’m finally getting around to writing about the longest-lived Labrador Retriever we’ve ever had live with us.

To give you some idea how much has occurred with Ruby, I’ll start off with the photo of when we picked her (or should I say, when she waddled over to pick us) when she was five weeks old. She was all Lab, wanting to play and romp with her littermates, and then when we brought her home at eight weeks, with Max.

This was Ruby on 8 November 2008, twelve weeks after she was born. She was smitten with Max, and spent all her waking hours playing with him. He, of course, tried to be cool about the whole thing.

Max and Ruby were always two peas in a pod as far as doggos go. They loved to do everything together. It’s unfortunate we lost Max back in 2015, nearly 10 years ago. But his spirit lives on with Ruby, and with Annie, our Labradoodle.

I’m back to walking the girls after evening meal, as part of my physical therapy, and as part of the three of us spending time together. Ruby still leads me on the walks, although we’re both walking slower than we used to. Annie is always tugging on her lead, while Ruby just walks with a trained elegance that only comes with age.

I’m blessed Ruby is still with me, and I try to take time out of every day to spend it with her. Ruby, and all the little ones, are one of many joys of retirement.