Ah, I miss the little booger something fierce. Despite having 2 kids with a volume level of loud and louder, the house seems so quiet now. I can still feel his fur brush against my leg as I move from room to room with him following thisclose to me. And when I open the back sliding door, I can hear his collar jingle rushing to run outside.
These past few days I've taken comfort in talking with family and friends who knew Bailey. There are so many wonderful stories about the kind of dog he was. This blog is going to be dedicated to sharing some of these stories with you.
Gosh, where do I start?
PUPPYHOOD
I would take Bailey with me everywhere. Grocery store, CVS, Home Depot, Bank, etc. There was no place off limits and it is amazing what you can get away with if no one thinks they should stop you. Bailey was always well-behaved and fortunately never got into trouble. I remember driving to Florida when he was a few months old and I had to stop to use the bathroom. I didn't want to leave Bailey by himself in the car and therefore, took him into the bathroom with me. Of course there was a big sign that said "No Dogs" we had to walk past, but that didn't matter. Bailey and I took up a lot of space in the stall and like a true mom I told him, "Don't touch anything. Public restrooms are dirty." He just looked at me and obeyed. Didn't even sniff anything. I am sure the people next to us must've thought I was off my rocker.
One time I flew to Orlando with him and had to purchase an extra large crate for him to fit in. When you get a crate this big and it is approved for airline use, it comes on wheels. No kidding. This was before husband and kids and it was just me and him flying to Florida. I did get some doggy Valium from the vet to give him beforehand so he wouldn't be nervous about flying. We were standing in line at the counter to check in and I kept Bailey out of the crate for as long as possible. Once it got time that I had to put him in, he wouldn't willingly go inside. So there I am in front of US Air, trying to shove this very big German Shepherd into the crate, which was on wheels. I quickly had 4 guys who were standing in line come to my rescue to try to help. Two of the guys held the crate in place and the other two guys tried to shove Bailey inside. Bailey kept stretching his long legs out sideways, preventing him fitting through the doorway of the crate. Oh, it must've taken 15 minutes with 5 of us working on the task. We gave everyone at the airport quite a show.
The first major snowstorm after Bailey was with me, found us outside with all my neighbors digging our cars out. Bailey loved the snow and never missed an opportunity to play in it. When Bailey saw what everyone was doing with their shovels, he positioned himself behind my car and started digging. His legs were moving ridiculously fast. The snow was flying up high behind him and was making it easier to get my car out. Everyone wanted Bailey to come over and help them.
Before getting married, Jeff and I would take Bailey down to the Mall and go for long walks. One time he saw a group of boys playing with a ball and Bailey wanted to join in. The boys let Bailey play and a fun game of soccer got underway. Bailey did a great job of kicking the ball and running with it, while the boys were trying to steal the ball away.
Whenever Bailey had gotten professionally bathed, the first thing the groomer says when I arrive to pick him up is how incredibly well he behaves getting a bath. Bailey will just stand there and not even try to flee the scene. You can pretty much do whatever you want to him and he will let you. For the first year or so of his life, every Sunday was bath day. I'd put Bailey in my bath tub and turn on the shower. Eventually he outgrew my bath tub and the baths got less frequent, but he grew up not knowing any thing different and always smelled so sweet.
When we first moved into our house and before I quit my job, we had a cleaning lady come clean the house. After the first cleaning, I received the following message on my answering machine:
"Barney did great with me being in the house. However, when I went in your shower to clean it, I turned around and Barney was standing right there in the shower with me."
IAN
When Ian was first born and we brought him home from the hospital, Bailey had full access to his new little brother. I would find Bailey standing on his hind legs up against the top rail of the crib and peering inside, gazing at Ian. He would do this multiple times a day to check on him.
When Ian was 3 months old, I had the crazy idea to take Bailey and Ian to get professional pictures taken. At the time, JC Penny's at Fair Oaks Mall was the only place that would allow dogs. The photo studio is located on the 2nd floor and has no doors. Even the individual rooms only have curtains. When it was time for our appointment, I took Bailey's leash off so it wouldn't look awkward in the pictures. Ian was propped up on this pillow and Bailey positioned himself up on the table next to him. All was going well until Bailey decided he had enough and jumped down and left the photo studio. I couldn't very well abandon Ian on this table to run after Bailey and was in a pickle on what to do next. I found Bailey hanging out in the women's department at JC Penny's. I am sure he scared some women big-time when they saw him unescorted wandering around the clothes.
HALLOWEEN
The Holiday Inn at Olde Towne used to do doggy happy hours in their courtyard. For halloween they would have doggy halloween parties and you brought your dog in costume. Bailey was Batdog and I was Robin!
We've lived in our house now for 5 halloweens. We leave the front door open and have the glass storm door closed to show trick-or-treaters that we home and handing out candy. Each year, Bailey's favorite position to sit right in front of the storm door and wait for the kids to come up the walkway. Bailey loves that all these little visitors were coming to see him. Of course some of the kids were terrified seeing a huge dog waiting for them at the door. But isn't being scared part of Halloween?!?!?
MY SISTER LORI
Before Sam was born and we had to turn the guest room into her room, my sister would come visit frequently and stay in this room. For some reason Bailey loved her bras and would stick his head in her bag until he found one and pulled it out. He used to walk around the house with it dangling from his mouth. It would only be her bras that he did this with.
After the wedding, my sister Lori took Bailey back home with her to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania to watch him for the 3 weeks we were away on our honeymoon. Somewhere along the drive on I-95, Lori got stopped for speeding (see? It is a Mazer thing!). When the officer approached Lori's car he noticed Bailey in the back. German Shepherds are great thing to have when trying to suck-up to a cop. The cop was so enamored by Bailey, that he had Lori take him out of the car and let him play with him a little on the side of the highway. Lori told him he was the ring bearer in her sister's wedding and put Bailey's 'tux' on him for the officer to see. Needless to say, Lori got away with a warning and Bailey made a new friend.
BAILEY, THE OUTDOORSY DOG
My friend Siobhan and I would take Bailey for hikes in the Great Falls area. One time we met after work and wanted to fit a hike in before nightfall. Not one of our smartest ideas as we only had a couple hours of sunlight left in the day. I know the rule is you must keep your dog leased at all times, but again, I am not one for rules if I don't think they make sense. I would take Bailey's leash and wrap it around his neck, so technically he still was a leashed dog, but I just wasn't holding his leash. In all the times we went hiking, Bailey never ran off. Even when passing other dogs, he couldn't be bothered by them and just kept near us. HOWEVER, on this one particular hike as it is getting increasingly darker and darker, Bailey spots some deer and takes off like a bat out of hell after them. OMG! He chases them deep into the woods and we tried very hard to keep up. Obviously we'll never be as fast as a dog or deer and we also didn't want to leave the trail for fear we'd get lost ourselves. We called for Bailey (yelling at the top of our lungs for over 30 minutes) walking back and forth this particular stretch of trail over and over again hoping he would come back out of the woods, where we saw him go in. Siobhan and I were both completely freaked out and realized we needed to go find the park ranger before they left for the day. At this point, it is almost completely dark out and we are scared finishing the hike with nightfall so close. There are no street lights in the woods! As we are heading back to leave, we walk for a few minutes and turn this corner in the trail. We can hardly make out this figure, but there in the distance, coming towards us is Bailey. He was walking very, very slowly and was panting big-time. He was coming to find us! He was so exhausted and worn out from his chase of the deer. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him. Siobhan and I just stood there and hugged each other. We will never know if Bailey caught the deer or not, but I guarantee you, he gave them a run for their money.
I used to also do the Billy Goat Trail with Bailey. I don't think they allow dogs on it now, but they used to. For anyone not familiar with this trail, it is very rocky and you have to climb over various rock formations to get to the other side. It is a fun trail and goes on a for a few miles. Excellent form of exercise! One time I was with a group of friends and we had Bailey with us. We came upon this medium-sized set of rocks we had to climb over. Bailey was having so many problems being coordinated enough to do this particular climb. We ended up having to pick him up and carry him some of the way. It was quite funny and he was okay with us carrying him.
OPENING DOORS
When we first moved into the neighborhood, Bailey figured out how to open the back gate to our fence and would let himself out. On beautiful Spring and Fall days, some of our neighbors would keep the back or front door open and just have the screen closed to let fresh air in. A few times a neighbor would come running outside saying a very big German Shepherd just let himself in. Bailey would make himself at home and take a tour of their house.
Another time Bailey let himself out of the back gate and bit this dog that was walking along the trail with his owner. Bailey bit the dog on his penis. Not one of Bailey's finer moments. After that incident, the gates in our fence got reinforced with chain link and he was never able to let himself out again.
EVERYONE IS A FRIEND
Whenever service men would come to the house, they would instantly fall in love with Bailey and vice-a-versa. He thought everyone who came over was his best friend and would greet them with a toy in his mouth for them to throw and play catch. One time an air conditioning and heating guy had to get down on his knees and go through our crawl space. There is not a whole lot of room in this space and wouldn't you know, right behind him was Bailey following him closely. Even Bailey had to crouch down to make his way through.
Bailey was particularly fond of my Father-in-law, who I can not state enough is NOT A DOG PERSON AT ALL! He tolerated Bailey when he came to visit, but the idea of having a dog as a pet is something he never totally understood or appreciated. Of course, my father-in-law would be Bailey's favorite person when he came over and followed him everywhere. Bailey would lay down at Harold's feet and just hang out there.
Bailey also loved my mom and stepfather and would follow them around the house too. No matter where my mom and Jim slept at night, Bailey would have to be in the same room and be next to them. The night would start off without Bailey being allowed in the room, but the minute my mom or Jim got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, Bailey would seize his opportunity and sneak into the room. When they came back, he was always fast asleep and a happy camper.
A BIG CREAM PUFF
One time I was folding laundry and a sock fell on Bailey, who was laying on the bed. Bailey did nothing to move and let the sock be on top of him where it landed. It got me thinking, I wonder how much laundry I can pile on top of him before he gets agitated enough to want to get up and move. It never happened! Bailey was covered in clothing and never moved.
When I first started dating Jeff, Bailey found out he was ticklish before I did!
We took Bailey to Olde Towne Pet Resort for a day of fun (swimming, playing) and grooming. When we came at the end of the day to pick him up, Bailey was behind the counter checking people and their dogs in. He was standing on his hind legs, with his front legs on the top counter ledge and watching everyone come and go. The staff said that Bailey didn't like being confined in a cage waiting and he was so good, they decided to let him be up front with them.
Bailey had no idea just how big he was. Up until the very end, he thought he was a lap dog. He had these big brown beautiful eyes and I would have staring contests with him to see who would blink first.
I miss him lots, but I have these wonderful memories that will keep my heart filled with him forever.
These past few days I've taken comfort in talking with family and friends who knew Bailey. There are so many wonderful stories about the kind of dog he was. This blog is going to be dedicated to sharing some of these stories with you.
Gosh, where do I start?
PUPPYHOOD
I would take Bailey with me everywhere. Grocery store, CVS, Home Depot, Bank, etc. There was no place off limits and it is amazing what you can get away with if no one thinks they should stop you. Bailey was always well-behaved and fortunately never got into trouble. I remember driving to Florida when he was a few months old and I had to stop to use the bathroom. I didn't want to leave Bailey by himself in the car and therefore, took him into the bathroom with me. Of course there was a big sign that said "No Dogs" we had to walk past, but that didn't matter. Bailey and I took up a lot of space in the stall and like a true mom I told him, "Don't touch anything. Public restrooms are dirty." He just looked at me and obeyed. Didn't even sniff anything. I am sure the people next to us must've thought I was off my rocker.
One time I flew to Orlando with him and had to purchase an extra large crate for him to fit in. When you get a crate this big and it is approved for airline use, it comes on wheels. No kidding. This was before husband and kids and it was just me and him flying to Florida. I did get some doggy Valium from the vet to give him beforehand so he wouldn't be nervous about flying. We were standing in line at the counter to check in and I kept Bailey out of the crate for as long as possible. Once it got time that I had to put him in, he wouldn't willingly go inside. So there I am in front of US Air, trying to shove this very big German Shepherd into the crate, which was on wheels. I quickly had 4 guys who were standing in line come to my rescue to try to help. Two of the guys held the crate in place and the other two guys tried to shove Bailey inside. Bailey kept stretching his long legs out sideways, preventing him fitting through the doorway of the crate. Oh, it must've taken 15 minutes with 5 of us working on the task. We gave everyone at the airport quite a show.
The first major snowstorm after Bailey was with me, found us outside with all my neighbors digging our cars out. Bailey loved the snow and never missed an opportunity to play in it. When Bailey saw what everyone was doing with their shovels, he positioned himself behind my car and started digging. His legs were moving ridiculously fast. The snow was flying up high behind him and was making it easier to get my car out. Everyone wanted Bailey to come over and help them.
Before getting married, Jeff and I would take Bailey down to the Mall and go for long walks. One time he saw a group of boys playing with a ball and Bailey wanted to join in. The boys let Bailey play and a fun game of soccer got underway. Bailey did a great job of kicking the ball and running with it, while the boys were trying to steal the ball away.Whenever Bailey had gotten professionally bathed, the first thing the groomer says when I arrive to pick him up is how incredibly well he behaves getting a bath. Bailey will just stand there and not even try to flee the scene. You can pretty much do whatever you want to him and he will let you. For the first year or so of his life, every Sunday was bath day. I'd put Bailey in my bath tub and turn on the shower. Eventually he outgrew my bath tub and the baths got less frequent, but he grew up not knowing any thing different and always smelled so sweet.
When we first moved into our house and before I quit my job, we had a cleaning lady come clean the house. After the first cleaning, I received the following message on my answering machine:
"Barney did great with me being in the house. However, when I went in your shower to clean it, I turned around and Barney was standing right there in the shower with me."
IAN
When Ian was first born and we brought him home from the hospital, Bailey had full access to his new little brother. I would find Bailey standing on his hind legs up against the top rail of the crib and peering inside, gazing at Ian. He would do this multiple times a day to check on him.When Ian was 3 months old, I had the crazy idea to take Bailey and Ian to get professional pictures taken. At the time, JC Penny's at Fair Oaks Mall was the only place that would allow dogs. The photo studio is located on the 2nd floor and has no doors. Even the individual rooms only have curtains. When it was time for our appointment, I took Bailey's leash off so it wouldn't look awkward in the pictures. Ian was propped up on this pillow and Bailey positioned himself up on the table next to him. All was going well until Bailey decided he had enough and jumped down and left the photo studio. I couldn't very well abandon Ian on this table to run after Bailey and was in a pickle on what to do next. I found Bailey hanging out in the women's department at JC Penny's. I am sure he scared some women big-time when they saw him unescorted wandering around the clothes.
HALLOWEEN
The Holiday Inn at Olde Towne used to do doggy happy hours in their courtyard. For halloween they would have doggy halloween parties and you brought your dog in costume. Bailey was Batdog and I was Robin!We've lived in our house now for 5 halloweens. We leave the front door open and have the glass storm door closed to show trick-or-treaters that we home and handing out candy. Each year, Bailey's favorite position to sit right in front of the storm door and wait for the kids to come up the walkway. Bailey loves that all these little visitors were coming to see him. Of course some of the kids were terrified seeing a huge dog waiting for them at the door. But isn't being scared part of Halloween?!?!?
MY SISTER LORI
Before Sam was born and we had to turn the guest room into her room, my sister would come visit frequently and stay in this room. For some reason Bailey loved her bras and would stick his head in her bag until he found one and pulled it out. He used to walk around the house with it dangling from his mouth. It would only be her bras that he did this with.
After the wedding, my sister Lori took Bailey back home with her to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania to watch him for the 3 weeks we were away on our honeymoon. Somewhere along the drive on I-95, Lori got stopped for speeding (see? It is a Mazer thing!). When the officer approached Lori's car he noticed Bailey in the back. German Shepherds are great thing to have when trying to suck-up to a cop. The cop was so enamored by Bailey, that he had Lori take him out of the car and let him play with him a little on the side of the highway. Lori told him he was the ring bearer in her sister's wedding and put Bailey's 'tux' on him for the officer to see. Needless to say, Lori got away with a warning and Bailey made a new friend.BAILEY, THE OUTDOORSY DOG
My friend Siobhan and I would take Bailey for hikes in the Great Falls area. One time we met after work and wanted to fit a hike in before nightfall. Not one of our smartest ideas as we only had a couple hours of sunlight left in the day. I know the rule is you must keep your dog leased at all times, but again, I am not one for rules if I don't think they make sense. I would take Bailey's leash and wrap it around his neck, so technically he still was a leashed dog, but I just wasn't holding his leash. In all the times we went hiking, Bailey never ran off. Even when passing other dogs, he couldn't be bothered by them and just kept near us. HOWEVER, on this one particular hike as it is getting increasingly darker and darker, Bailey spots some deer and takes off like a bat out of hell after them. OMG! He chases them deep into the woods and we tried very hard to keep up. Obviously we'll never be as fast as a dog or deer and we also didn't want to leave the trail for fear we'd get lost ourselves. We called for Bailey (yelling at the top of our lungs for over 30 minutes) walking back and forth this particular stretch of trail over and over again hoping he would come back out of the woods, where we saw him go in. Siobhan and I were both completely freaked out and realized we needed to go find the park ranger before they left for the day. At this point, it is almost completely dark out and we are scared finishing the hike with nightfall so close. There are no street lights in the woods! As we are heading back to leave, we walk for a few minutes and turn this corner in the trail. We can hardly make out this figure, but there in the distance, coming towards us is Bailey. He was walking very, very slowly and was panting big-time. He was coming to find us! He was so exhausted and worn out from his chase of the deer. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him. Siobhan and I just stood there and hugged each other. We will never know if Bailey caught the deer or not, but I guarantee you, he gave them a run for their money.
I used to also do the Billy Goat Trail with Bailey. I don't think they allow dogs on it now, but they used to. For anyone not familiar with this trail, it is very rocky and you have to climb over various rock formations to get to the other side. It is a fun trail and goes on a for a few miles. Excellent form of exercise! One time I was with a group of friends and we had Bailey with us. We came upon this medium-sized set of rocks we had to climb over. Bailey was having so many problems being coordinated enough to do this particular climb. We ended up having to pick him up and carry him some of the way. It was quite funny and he was okay with us carrying him.
OPENING DOORS
When we first moved into the neighborhood, Bailey figured out how to open the back gate to our fence and would let himself out. On beautiful Spring and Fall days, some of our neighbors would keep the back or front door open and just have the screen closed to let fresh air in. A few times a neighbor would come running outside saying a very big German Shepherd just let himself in. Bailey would make himself at home and take a tour of their house.
Another time Bailey let himself out of the back gate and bit this dog that was walking along the trail with his owner. Bailey bit the dog on his penis. Not one of Bailey's finer moments. After that incident, the gates in our fence got reinforced with chain link and he was never able to let himself out again.
EVERYONE IS A FRIEND
Whenever service men would come to the house, they would instantly fall in love with Bailey and vice-a-versa. He thought everyone who came over was his best friend and would greet them with a toy in his mouth for them to throw and play catch. One time an air conditioning and heating guy had to get down on his knees and go through our crawl space. There is not a whole lot of room in this space and wouldn't you know, right behind him was Bailey following him closely. Even Bailey had to crouch down to make his way through.
Bailey was particularly fond of my Father-in-law, who I can not state enough is NOT A DOG PERSON AT ALL! He tolerated Bailey when he came to visit, but the idea of having a dog as a pet is something he never totally understood or appreciated. Of course, my father-in-law would be Bailey's favorite person when he came over and followed him everywhere. Bailey would lay down at Harold's feet and just hang out there.
Bailey also loved my mom and stepfather and would follow them around the house too. No matter where my mom and Jim slept at night, Bailey would have to be in the same room and be next to them. The night would start off without Bailey being allowed in the room, but the minute my mom or Jim got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, Bailey would seize his opportunity and sneak into the room. When they came back, he was always fast asleep and a happy camper.
A BIG CREAM PUFF
One time I was folding laundry and a sock fell on Bailey, who was laying on the bed. Bailey did nothing to move and let the sock be on top of him where it landed. It got me thinking, I wonder how much laundry I can pile on top of him before he gets agitated enough to want to get up and move. It never happened! Bailey was covered in clothing and never moved.When I first started dating Jeff, Bailey found out he was ticklish before I did!
We took Bailey to Olde Towne Pet Resort for a day of fun (swimming, playing) and grooming. When we came at the end of the day to pick him up, Bailey was behind the counter checking people and their dogs in. He was standing on his hind legs, with his front legs on the top counter ledge and watching everyone come and go. The staff said that Bailey didn't like being confined in a cage waiting and he was so good, they decided to let him be up front with them.Bailey had no idea just how big he was. Up until the very end, he thought he was a lap dog. He had these big brown beautiful eyes and I would have staring contests with him to see who would blink first.
I miss him lots, but I have these wonderful memories that will keep my heart filled with him forever.
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