Closing a chapter in life can be tough...

We all have from time to time those events that while not physically difficult, are mentally tough and take some getting use to it.  Yesterday was one of those times as I dismantled the kennel for our dog Daisy, who passed away about three weeks ago.  The kennel has just sat empty during that time, and with high likelihood of not getting another dog, it was time to take it down.  There were lots of memories with each part and a side story to boot. We had grown very accustomed as a family of driving into our back driveway and having Daisy there to greet us and welcome us home.  It has been pretty quiet there the last few weeks and pretty clear that while relieved from this earthly pain, she was not coming back.  Thus the need to close that chapter.

Daisy's kennel had a tarp roof (along with a "night light"
which I had already removed)

We had purchased her kennel from Lowe's and while we had looked at more expensive versions, this was something we could afford.  We purchased the roof package, which worked well until the first heavy snow storm and one morning came out to find it had collapsed.  In an effort to re-establish it, I grabbed some old boards, nailed them together with my pneumatic nail gun and planned on building something better, with the idea that this would be temporary.  It only stayed the same for another eight years!  In hindsight, I would have never purchased their roof version but built something out of wood at a fraction of the cost and frankly is a much stronger alternative.

Daisy had this thing for chewing!

Daisy had this thing for chewing, on nearly everything!  We once bought her this really nice comfy padded bed only to come out and find an hour later, she had chewed the thing apart.  She was not discriminating and chewed nearly everything, including the "temporary support" of her roof!  The amazing part, is the board was on the outside of her kennel wall and somehow she chewed on it through the fence!

Daisy's dog house that we found on sale and
was her home the entire time

I had numerous conversations with Daisy that eating her own home, was really not in her best interest and she should be much more selective.

When we moved to our current home, I secured the services of a friend in the construction business, DeLynn Kirkham.  Their business did a lot of concrete restoration and re-profiling decks in parking structures.  It was their business to not have water sitting in one place for a long period of time and it proved to be the case with Daisy's kennel.  Whenever we washed it, or the weather left water on the floor, it would drain off quickly and slopped outward in all directions.  One of the best investments we could have made. 

As I dismantled the wall sections and placed them in a place in our yard for storage, I ran into lots of little things that reminded me of our time with Daisy.  I was very grateful for the experience our family shared and without an exception, everyone of us, as we passed the newly cleaned up area, remarked of how different it felt to not have her there.

Empty concrete pad, awaiting a new use...

We've had a few discussions of what to do with the site, but we'll have to wait for the right time financially.  In the mean time, it just will not be the same.  While not in pristine condition, we still do have a usable kennel that I've decided to not sell, just yet.  However if there is a family, who are just starting out with a dog, and just happened to need a kennel that could provide a good home, I think we would like that and would make you a great deal.  It would even be OK, if it were just temporary.  After all, our temporary stuff lasted eight years....