Man's Best Friend

Not exactly the type of update that I was hoping to send out, but given the nature of the information, this is probably a justifiable forum to be used given that many of you have a very strong interest in the words and feelings that this post passes along.

On Monday, November 18th, Mulligan took his final lap around the golf course before he lost his battle to a tumor on his spleen. At the age of 15.5 years old, reality told us that this day would be coming, we just didn't know when.

Mulligan was always a part of my life on the golf course. For 15 years, every morning started the same. My alarm would go off and Mulligan would head down the stairs to wait by the door to make sure he wouldn't get left behind. For those of you that know me, how many times did he not make it to work with me? Not very many. Why? Truth be told, he would become completely incorrigible if he was not allowed to come to work. He would much rather sit in his basket within the confines of my office than stay at home with a house to himself. After all, if he was at home, he would miss out on a possible opportunity to take a ride around the golf course, chase squirrels, go swimming or con some unsuspecting member into sharing half of a turkey sandwich. Even in his final days, he was always willing to fight the pain to make it to work. Work was always filled with excitement, or at least the potential for excitement. Where else do people carry treats in their golf bags? Nowhere else but work, and he knew that with 100% certainty.

For those of you that allowed him to be a part of your lives, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I especially want to thank Dr. Jill Windy and the staff at Noah's Landing for taking such good care of him through all of his ailments. He far exceeded anyone's expectations, but to those of us that knew Mulligan, weren't surprised.

So, as I write this blog post, I want to say thank you to Mulligan who was the perfect example of "Man's Best Friend".

• Thank you for showing me what unconditional love is all about
• Thank you for teaching me the value of true friendship
• Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for work because I didn't always have it
• Thank you for being a good listener whenever I thought the course was in bad shape
• Thank you for always being a footwarmer on cold nights
• Thank you for being a playground for our kids when they were toddlers
• Thank you for allowing me to use you as a napkin when I didn't have one

 So long my friend. Thank you for being you. Enjoy your next chapter in life, the perfect pond awaits you.