Tribute to Patcho

Day before yesterday a very, very dear friend was killed - by a
bus..... playing in the street....... with another 4 legged
friend........ I also loved.

The very first day I arrived in Costa Rica - Sept. 2006 - I went
straight to the home of Kurt and Kristy Raihn where I had reservations
for the following 3 months in one of their cabinas. The very next
morning I walked down the hill from my cabina and for the very first
time saw the beach I would spent more hours than I can possible count
in the years to follow. That very morning the sky was blue - not
always the case in mid-Sept, the beach had a large number of shells I
had never in my life seen, this was the first time I saw the mermaid
and amongst all this......there was Patcho to greet me.

Patcho is a tico dog. What that means is God only knows for sure what
mixture of breeds he is. Many times just a street dog adopted by whom
ever will take them in.

When I first spotted Patcho he was running in the tide pools chasing
birds. Then he was jumping on the rocks. Then he was just running
back and forth with a huge smile on his face. As I got closer I
called to him and there he came. We were friends immediately. As I
continued to walk down the beach he stayed with me. I talked to him
and he listened very carefully. Then he'd see a bird and go after it
- then return to see if I was ok. When I got as far as I wanted to
go, I turned around and headed back. Patcho turned and followed. As
we got back to the mermaid, too much was going on in the tide pools
and that was when he left. After all, Patcho was and always will
be....a free spirit. I had fallen in love with him and we were now
best friends.

From that day forward - for the next 4 years we remained friends. He
knew I loved him and when ever we saw each other - he would stop and
allow me to touch and play for a moment before he was off again.

I love all dogs but we all have our favorites. It is painful when one
of them dies or disappears. There is a good reason why they are
called man's best friend. They don't care what color we are, how smart
we are, where we are from, what we do, who we choose to hang out
with. Their love is unconditional.

I'v heard it said....."All dogs go to Heaven". I visualize him
chasing after bright red butterflies. I love you Patcho - thank you
so much for the gift of love you gave me.