Aussie was a wonderful companion to us for nearly nine-and-a-half years. She loved to ride in the boat but wasn't very good for fishing because all she wanted was to have fun. So I picked my days, just like I did when my boys were young, knowing I wouldn't get to fish much. But those days are some of the more memorable, indeed. I remember our very first trip we had together in my beat up old gheenoe. We launched at Cockroach Bay and headed South into the back country. She took the Helm and barked at the mangrove trees as they moved by. I suppose she thought trees were meant to stand still. She discovered birds as large as she at six or seven months old. This is a picture of her as we meandered through the mangrove islands.

We then headed out to Beacon Pass which at that time of year held a very low tide. The Gheenoe can be rough on a middle aged body and I wanted to get out and fish from the shore to stretch the bones. The Gheenoe was in about three inches of water when I picked her up to get out with me. She didn't like what she saw below and held her paws out and above her ears like a paratrooper jumping from a plane. I put her down and she was very apprehensive for about twenty seconds. She took a half-dozen steps or so and then bolted. She ran and ran. I thought I'd never see her again. She then stopped and ran back and started making doughnuts around the Gheenoe. She made the circles around me and the Gheenoe for some time. I was laughing so hard I nearly forgot about my camera. She looked like a field rat skipping across the water. I managed this series of shots of her.

Yes, she got me wet. This was a dog who truly had a sense of humor. She found bobbing for snails absolutely hilarious. A few years ago I upgraded from the Gheenoe as my boys got older as did my back and got a Shoalwater Mini Cat. The last time I had her out on the boat, we were trolling past a crab buoy as I was searching for triple tail. We were South of the Skyway in clear blue water when she noticed one buoy moving by. She started to bark at it as it drifted by and followed it all the way aft where she rand out of plank and plunged into the water. She was much better at running than swimming and characteristically looked to be drowning. She wasn't, of course, but I did need to go retrieve her. I turned the boat around and called her. She hadn't quite made it to the buoy when she heard me and decided she should stop barking and come back. She smiled at me as she swam back and I could tell she was thinking that was funny as hell.

All those who met her instantly knew she was special. I'm glad Joel now has someone to keep him company. I'm sure they are running again together as they did so long ago. Joel was the only one I knew who could wear her out and could still keep going. Joel was my son, Aussie was my (our) dog. One expects to outlive a pet. One doesn't expect to outlive a son.

Aussie died of a heart attack at 12:24 PM Saturday. She was nine years four months old.