Mattie

We got her when she was 6 weeks old. She was with us for over 15 years. She loved chasing balls. Loved our cat. Never “heeled” our grandchildren, :).
Fetched the newspaper from the driveway. Loved going to work with us everyday. Sometimes she would be in the office with me and sometimes out front where all the activity was going on. We live in an area with lots of trees, blackberries and wildlife. One morning she was sitting on the back porch with a chestful of porcupine quills. Trip to the vet. Another day, she had blood all over . We checked and didn’t find wounds of any kind. ?? Later we discovered a dead opossum in the front yard she had killed. She was “skunked” only once. 🙂 The toys we gave her she shook and they always ended up in the bushes where they were not retrievable. She tore pieces of blackberry vines to shake & when I was trimming shrubs she always took branches to shake and whip about. Loved trotting up and down next to the John Deere while Dan was mowing the yard. Our oldest son had a beagle about the same age. They got along fine except Mattie was always “poking” him with her nose. Really irritated Huet. 🙂 Loved playing in the hose spray but hated baths. She lost an eye when she was young, started having seizures at 7 months, was on thyroid pills, seizure pills. Pain pills the last couple years for arthritis. Her poor front paws were so swollen everyday but she kept on going. She was loosing muscle mass in her back legs and was having difficulty walking. One afternoon last summer i carried her to the yard, she just lay down and never got back up on her feet again. We carried her inside and were up with her all night. Just laying with her and petting and talking to her. Took her to the vet that next morning and with quiet music she went to sleep in peace, forever. We all know how hard that is. Crying as I am typing. We loved our big blue heeler so much.

A donation was made in Mattie's memory and the memorial was created on August 4, 2017.