Our First Aussie

by Jana
(Georgia)

Cammie - approximately 13 yrs old

We got our first Aussie, Cammie (short for camoflague) in 1994. She was a red merle puppy that we found at the Humane Society. We had never seen any dog that looked like her and knew she was meant to be ours. We knew she would be a big dog, even though the staff member at the shelter said she would only weigh about 20 lbs - right! At her full grown weight, she was almost 60 lbs (oh, she may not like me revealing that).

Cammie was a wonderful companion. She was quirky, strong-willed, but very loyal and loving. When she was about 5 months old, I took her on a hike by a river. Well, because she was an 'alpha' she always had to climb onto every high rock or log. One time, she decided to jump off a rock into the river… not knowing she would sink. I believe she thought she had just discovered the coolest thing ever - water! It was cold, wet and exciting! She ran out of the river, only to climb back on the rock and jump in again and again! Hikers stopped by to laugh at her. She had a blast and developed a long love affair with the water. We always thought she was a good swimmer until we realized she was walking on the bottom - not swimming at all. After a long swim, she loved to get out and run through the tall grass in the nearby fields. She would hop like a rabbit, a wet rabbit.

I have 100's of stories about our wonderful girl. She was a blessing for over 15 years. She has been gone almost 2 years and rarely does a day pass that I don't think of her. Over the weekend, we took our 4 yr Aussie and 1 yr Mini Aussie to a park for a walk and lo and behold, there was a dog that looked very similar to our Cammie. He was boy and only 6, so he probably wasn't a relative, but he easily could have been. It made my heart skip a beat - made me happy and sad all at the same time.

I know Cammie is still playing in the water and tall grass around the Rainbow Bridge. I hope she thinks of us as much as we think of her. Go play sweet girl. We love you.

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