Ebony's passing.....August 5th, 2008

Our beautiful girl, Ebony-(AKC-McCooks Black Beauty Ebony [aka-Big Moma Woofs]), left us on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008. We will miss her terribly.

I remember the day she came into our lives and stole our hearts right from the start. It was April 9th, 1996. I called Nadine Todd and asked if she still had the female poodle available. I was given her name by a friend who saw her at a show. She said yes and I asked if we could come to see her. During the drive to Nadine's house, we were deciding on the name we would call her. And the one we all agreed to was Ebony. We arrived at Nadine's and were greeted by Ebony's mom-Jamie (AKC-For Your Eyes Only) and all the Weimaraners. Ebony was reluctant to come to us at first, but then Nadine left the room so Ebony would not be able to use her as a distraction. She then came over to check us out. We played with her and held her----we fell in love with her. She was beautiful! We told Nadine that we would love to make her part of our family. Till that point, Nadine figured that she was going to keep Ebony. So us showing up on her doorstep and wanting to make her part of our family was an unexpected surprise for Nadine. She had given her the name Ebony Girl. What a coincidence, she was already being called Ebony! So we signed the contract and Nadine told us about her routine, her habits, etc. She gave us her favorite toys and she also gave us some food and vitamins for the transition that would last a couple of days. We packed up everything and carried Ebony out the front door. We looked back and saw Nadine crying. We told her not to worry, that we would take very good care of her.

We drove home in a freak blizzard. Ebony in my lap in the front passenger seat. She was scared and confused. I cuddled her and told her everything was going to be just fine. That she was going to love her new home. We hardly slept that first night. We fed Ebony, and played with her until she fell asleep. I laid next to her on my bedroom floor and watched her sleep until I too fell fast asleep. And so the story begins.

We joined Bayshore Companion Dog Club and began training in Obedience. Ebony loved to train. We had a special collar and lead that we used only for training. And when I would bring them out, she knew what it meant. She would get so excited. She loved the car rides, the training and meeting and playing with the other dogs at class. She was a quick study when it came to obedience or for that matter anything.

We took her everywhere we went. She especially loved to go to Shannon and Bobby's soccer, baseball, softball and track events. She got plenty of attention from the parents and their children. She touched many lives. Everyone was amazed at how well behaved she was. And that she was so gentle. The children would give her a command and she did what ever they asked. Then she patiently waited for them to give her a treat. She would open her mouth and wait for them to place the treat in her mouth. She never took it out of their hands. Even children who were afraid of dogs were not afraid of Ebony. They loved her. Everyone looked forward to seeing her at the sporting events. She would sit there so stately and watch what was going on.

She also loved going to the beach. Her favorite place to go was Ocean Grove. We would walk thru the town, stop at Day's Ice Cream Parlor, and walk thru the neighborhood admiring the houses. Then we would go for a walk on the boardwalk. From one end to the other--Asbury Park to Bradley Beach. Then we would go on the beach and let her run off lead. She love to chase the birds off the beach.

She also loved going up to Greenwood Lake. Walking thru the woods and going on the pontoon boat on the lake. She would jump off the boat to chase the ducks in the water. She loved the water.

At home, she loved to run in the yard. She was a fast runner and would give any racehorse a run for his money. She also loved to chase any animal that came into our yard. Mainly the deer, the groundhogs, the squirls and of course the chipmunks. She loved going for our 2 1/2 mile speed walks. We did obedience training while walking. We both were exhausted by the time we arrived home.

Ebony had such a beautiful face. And you could see what she was thinking and feeling thru those beautiful eyes of hers. They spoke volumes!

I could go on and on about Ebony. She was exceptional. She was a good ambassador for the breed and she touched many peoples lives. She will always have a special place in our hearts. We loved her so much, and she will live on in our hearts and our many wonderful memories. Our beautiful, precious Ebony. November 27th, 1995 ---- August 5th, 2008