We all lose sight of the small things in life that truly make life worth living. It's those special feelings that the most insignificant seeming moments give us that leave memories for a lifetime. Sadly the little things do not last forever, and what we take for granted today may not be there for us to lean on tomorrow. So hug your mom, or your dad, or your siblings, or your dog, or cat and be glad they're there today. The memories they leave with you today may need to last you a lifetime.

This is Rascal. We think he was part border collie, but he was too darn big to be one. Sadly our times with him were all to brief and we will only be able to remember the hijinks now.

 

Even when he was little he was silly. He would play in his water bowl or find ways to untie himself. Such things were why he had the name he did.

 

All too soon he grew up and went on his little galloping rampages through the yard and the surrounding fields. If you couldn't find him, you could be sure you'd see his head popping up over the soybeans as he bounced through the field. This picture helped earn him his nickname of The Bear.

 

Regardless of being a small bear, he was a friendly one. We found he liked to sleep outside the screen doors in the summer and peek in on us from time to time to be sure we were safe. He never failed to talk to us when he could.

 

He was also a farm dog deep down. For all his floppish behaviour he still managed to keep the groundhogs at bay and keep us company while we fixed the machinery.

 

And while he wasn't the biggest dog, we will always remember his skills. I know of no other dog who could race past my mom, flip his back end to the side against her legs and send her flying up into the air. We maintain it was practice for the groundhogs. She maintains that it wasn't funny.

We will miss his foolishness. We will miss his clever tricks. And most of all we will miss him.