HARLEE
We helped our dear friend Harlee on his journey to the Rainbow Bridge just before Christmas last year. We hoped our scrappy guy was beating his battle with cancer but his kidneys let him down. Harlee LOVED life and he loved Strut Your Mutt which he was thrilled to attend once as our foster and twice as the member of our family that he always was and forever will be.
Harlee was the most awesome, amazing guy – he had a big, sassy mouth, was a rock star on hikes in the Uintas, the lure course at Strut Your Mutt and his many adventures along the canal behind our house but I’d like to think he loved nothing better than curling up with his mom. We are heartbroken - he's left a giant hole in our lives but we know that he filled us up so much while he was here and his memory will be with us forever. Thank you Utah Friends of Basset Hounds for sending him to us as a foster (failure) – how very lucky we were.
Please, help raise money for Strut Your Mutt and No More Homeless Pets in Utah. There are so many incredibly special individuals that need our help to live the life they deserve. They truly make the world a better place.
Julie and Denny Kalar
SHADOW
A year ago on Good Friday, April 10th, our precious Black Lab, Shadow was diagnosed with cancer. The vet put him on meds to make him comfortable and told us it would be a matter of a few months. I had been Strutting with Shadow and his brother Sirius every year for years. My sister and I had already signed up to take both boys to Strut Your Mutt, but as the day grew closer, Shadow was growing weaker and I was dreading seeing the look on his face when I left the house for SYM with Sirius and had to leave him behind. The night before the event, my sister called to tell me that she had missed her plane from California and would not be able to make it to Strut Your Mutt. Since we had already registered two people and two dogs for SYM, my sweet husband, Brent, agreed to go with me and the dogs and since my husband has bad knees and didn’t want to walk the course, he and Shadow went with Sirius and I to Sugarhouse Park for SYM and while Sirius and I Strutted, he and Shadow sat in the shade and waited for us. When Sirius and I got back, we all wandered through the booths and got lots of treats for both boys. They were able to make paw prints with poster paint and we had a beautiful “family” photo taken.
It was the last one. Shadow passed away on June 26th and we miss him so very much. I have the photo in my office, at home and on my computer and I have the paw prints in my office and at home. I am so very thankful that Shadow got to go to Strut Your Mutt one last time. He had such a great time there. We were so grief stricken that we only went two days before we rescued another Black Lab. His name is Stetson and he will be at SYM this year with his brother Sirius and me. Attached is the picture we had taken at SYM last year. Sirius is on the left and Shadow is on the right. Thank you for letting me share my story.
Karen L. Larsen
ROSCOE & BRUISER
Our Baby Roscoe was killed by a car. He was only about 9 months old, and he had a birth defect heart condition. I vigorously tried to save his life, as I am an RN, but he had left us. My 16 year old daughter was devastated because he was her "boyfriend". He always wanted to be where she was. He would sit and wait for her to shower, wait at the front door for her when she left for school. He is our second baby boy we have lost in two years. We lost my baby Bruiser October '08 after an accidental NSAID poisoning. He was my baby, and I still miss him very much. It took me over a year before I could go and pick up his ashes. Last year I couldn't participate as I has just had a hysterectomy, but this year I am coming with my 3 kids and two girls (dogs). I would like to have a remembrance of Roscoe and Bruiser if at all possible. Thanks.
-Jennifer Fredrickson
Please consider walking in memory of your special dog or cat. If you would like to share your story on our website, please send it to danielle@utahpets.org.