We love you Corby

 Well, unfortunately, I have to return to this blog with yet another piece of sad news.  We lost our sweet boy Corby yesterday, after almost 11 full years together.

Corby first came into our lives as a very generous wedding gift from Rebeccah’s Aunt Lees, and I was lucky enough to get to first meet him when he was only one month old, hanging out with his brothers and his mother before they all went off to their separate homes:

A few short weeks later, Corby entered our lives full time as a member of our family, joining us down here in North Carolina.  And he has been our sidekick, our traveling companion, our source of comfort and joy ever since.  He has been with us through almost a third of our lives, and has been there to celebrate the good times and to help us get through the bad.  He was around for our wedding; he was there cheering me on as I graduated from Duke; he was there for our first apartment together, and then our first house, and then our second house; he was there for the birth of Madeline, and he helped us to raise her from a little baby into the wonderful girl she is today.  He also provided a source of comfort and a fuzzy shoulder to cry on during the bad times.  He helped us through so much, and we could really use him to help us through this loss right now.

From the first day he came to live with us, Corby fell in love with the outdoors, starting with the beach, but also including the forest, the mountains, rivers, parks, neighborhoods…basically anywhere we were able to roam. 

 As my Dad pointed out while I was talking to him today, Corby was always very curious, enthusiastic, and ready to be involved with whatever activity was going on or whatever adventure was before us.

Basically, if he was off leash or exploring the world, his was in his element.  But along with that inherent curiosity and enthusiasm, Corby was also incredibly trustworthy, and he always stayed under control and never strayed too far from our side. When walking in the woods or along the beach, Rebeccah and I always joked about how Corby had what we termed “critical distance” – he could always be trusted to run about 25 yards ahead of us, then stop and look back at us until we caught up, and then run ahead again, never getting out of sight, never leaving the path.  He even kept up his enthusiasm through a long, difficult rehabilitation from knee surgery back in 2009.  And once that knee was fully healed, “Beach, here I come!”.  

He even kept up that enthusiasm right to the end, using his last little bit of energy to chase the ball in the water a few more times before we had to go say goodbye. 

Corby had a lot of mentors and friends along the way, including some who he is now able to run along the beach with up there in Doggie Heaven: Bubba, Poppy, Monty, and of course, his best friend Maggie.  Rummy, Teddy, Hank, Regan, and Mocha, it is up to you to carry on their legacy now.

Perhaps the thing that I loved the most about the Corbster though, was his love and caring for Madeline from the moment she entered our lives.  Early on, Corby was very watchful of her, keeping an eye on everything and making sure all was OK.  As Madeline began to grow and become mobile, Corby put up with a lot, perhaps more than we should have expected him to, and never snapped or got upset.  And over time, as he and Madeline grew up together, they became the best of friends.

Corby, we treasure every moment we had with you, and we miss you desperately now that you are gone.  We miss our cooking and grilling buddy, who could always be relied upon to help clean up the kitchen or take care of any left over veggie pieces from dinner.  We miss our traveling companion, who would always plop down behind the driver’s seat and rest his head on our shoulder, looking out the windshield at the adventures ahead.  We miss seeing your head pop up at the front window whenever we begin to pull into the driveway, and your barked welcomes back into the house.  We miss having your cold little nose tap us in the arm telling us it is time to wake up and get breakfast ready.  And most of all, we miss your constant, steady, loving, comforting presence in our lives.  You were the best dog anyone could ever ask for, and you will never be replaced.