Ellie Mae came to live with us in February of 2008; she was old even then. She was a beautiful American Black and Tan Coonhound with her long ears and sad eyes and looked like she had had a litter of pups every year without fail. Like most rescues she was painfully skinny but she also had muscle atrophy in her hind legs and so it was always slow going for her. She learned to walk on the treadmill and would walk on it on rainy, icy and cold days at five miles an hour although she would rather walk outside and could manage half a mile in about 30 minutes because she had to smell every bush and pee every ten feet.

I won't hear her silly bark, "mommy help me up the stairs", "mommy help me get up on the couch", she won't be ringing the bell at the back door so she could go outside with her tail wagging happily when she would see me coming to help her or let her out. She was my constant shadow for 3 years. I would sing "Me and my Shadow" to her and now she is gone. How does one say good bye to one's shadow? Well, if God loves me and I know he does, she will be waiting for me in heaven with her wagging tail and sparkling eyes.

Bye, I'll be seeing you later, Ellie Mae.

Iris