Blind Dog Running

When my mother-in-law told us she wanted to make a movie, "Blind Dog Running" about her suddenly sight-impaired dog Barkley, John and I cracked up. In Barkley's younger years, John and I had too-many-to-count close calls with him. When we would pet-sit, he and Stanley bolted out the door more times than we'd like to admit, and certainly more times than we fessed up to Fred and Ellen (sorry guys!). And while John's fast, the greyhound portion of Barkley was not to be caught until he was ready. And when he and Stan were done running down Meandering Way (perfect name for a street to break free on), they would calmly let John snag them and prance back to the house happily out of breath. Late in life, Barkley was diagnosed with SARDs (Sudden Acute Retinal Disorder) which caused him to go completely blind, and while he struggled to figure out his way around in his new darkened world, Ellen discovered he could still do what he loved - run. I'm still not sure what her movie would have been about, but I'd like to imagine a screen-play about a dog who after some unfortunate set-backs triumphantly returns to racing - think "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken" but with dogs and racing instead of a girl and diving horses. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about here, you must find the movie on NetFlix - truly a classic!) Sadly, Barkley's condition worsened in the last couple of weeks, and Fred and Ellen had to make the unfortunate decision this week to end his pain. And, naturally, his death has made us all too aware of Stanley's mortality, but as a true dog-lover, I know we must be grateful for the wonderful life we are fortunate to give them and all the gifts of love they give us in return. Stanley lost a long-time friend who will be dearly missed, but surely, Barkley is somewhere resting pain-free and enjoying all things Barkley - squirrels, squeaky toys, treats, running and laying in someone's lap like the tiny dog he thought he was.