R I P Gander in Motion

[2eagles]

He didn't even make it 10 years before Lymphoma took him away. His registered name Gander in Motion was able to be shortened to Gander Mtn and he had a whole store named after him. In Facebook, I wrote......
"There's no way to say what a great family member Gander was. If you knew him, you understand. If you didn't know him, I'm sorry. The UPS guy was scared to death of him, but Gander would lie on the floor with babies. He loved swimming, but would kick like a mule in the bathtub. The only two nights he spent outside, we laid on the shore of a duck pond trying to keep each other warm. He loved my wife more than me, but listened to my commands better."
He enjoyed duck and goose hunting, but excelled at pheasant hunting where he could use those long legs and cover lots of ground hunting. His last bird retrieve was my Iowa fall turkey where using a dog for turkeys is legal. He pushed himself but made a final retrieve before we loaded him in the car to go to the vets office for the last time.
Darn tears

[eorlando]

Beautiful dog!!!  Sorry for your loss. It will be a sad day when my black lab goes. RIP

[owlhoot]

Sorry to hear that . Hard to lose your your buddy.

[Rapscallion Vermilion]

Handsome boy there.  Sorry to hear of your loss.  Yesterday mine was a puppy, today she's eight, I find myself worrying about tomorrow.  It all goes too fast.

[crow]

sorry to hear of the loss of your buddy,
really nice looking dog

[Muzzy61]

Beautiful dog, sorry for your lost.

[painterjp]

Sorry for your loss!

[tomstopper]

Beautiful dog. Sorry for your loss. Our dog/family member passed about 3 years ago and my family still misses him daily.

[trackerbucky]

Sorry for your loss.  I heard it said once, "Dogs lives are too short, it's their only real fault".  So very true.

[stone road turkey calls]

sorry for your loss

[tree-rat sniper]

That sucks, sorry man.

[2eagles]

Thanks, guys. It's been about a month now and things are ok. But, I still expect Gander to be waiting for me when I come home. Still vacuum extra where he liked to sleep. Still careful not to step on him when it's dark in the bedroom and I kiss my wife goodbye when I'm leaving early. Really miss him when I load up to go hunting. He'll live on in my feeble old mind..........

[sixbird]

I think there's not a pain greater than losing an innocent. A lab is the epitome of an innocent. I know, when they're puppies you just want to kill them sometimes. When they mature, well, a better friend you couldn't have...I lost my chocolate lab Lilly after a long battle with cancer. She was my "dog child." I still tear up when I think about her. I try to console myself with the knowledge that she isn't suffering and I try to focus on the joy that we had. Have never had a relationship with an animal or human quite like that. When we said goodbye, I felt like I was being left behind. Hopefully I'll see her again some day. A friend once said, "I think you like that dog more than you like most people..." Another friend once said he could see the bond we had. It had impressed him seeing the way we were with each other. Yep, they were both right. I know the pain and loss you feel seem like something nobody else could understand. I do and my heart goes out to you brother...