Tribute to Madysen Cash Force

Tonight we said goodbye to Maddy who came to us 12 years ago clear from Wisconsin. We named her Madysen Cash Force and affectionately called her Maddy.

I will never forget when I discovered Maddy's fascination with light beams and shadows. She was probably about 9 or 10 weeks old. I was doing some work at a table in the family room and Maddy and Brookie were both just playing or sleeping close by. It was morning and the sun was streaming through our east facing windows causing a reflection from my watch to move around the floor as my hands moved with my project. Maddy was suddenly chasing around the room, running here and there and acting totally psycho. "What are you doing"? I asked, not knowing why she was acting this way. I had stopped my work and the pup had also stopped. As soon as I moved my hand she was back at it again, and even jumped up looking at a spot on the wall. I soon realized what was going on. I took off the watch and guided the beam where I wanted it to go. Maddy was intense as she chased it, trying to catch it in her mouth or grab it with her paws. What a clown. That night I told Kirk and the kids about my discovery and we got out a flashlight to see if she would respond the same way. She loved it! Brookie would watch Maddy and wonder what all the fuss was about. She seemed to roll her eyes as if to say, "dumb dog, I'm not going to fall for that trick". Later on when Maddy was a little older I would notice her out in the yard standing with eager anticipation, watching the ground in front of her and then suddenly take off, chasing something across the lawn and stopping at the same spot each time. She repeated this over and over, always going back to the same spot. I came outside to see what was causing this activity only to discover that each time a bird or even a butterfly flew overhead Maddy would find great joy in chasing the shadow on the lawn as far as it would go. Again Brookie would be annoyed at this silly behavior. It was always fun taking Maddy for a walk in the dark with a flashlight. It wasn't hard to get her exercise in. I've often said that Maddy is the clown of our dog family.

Maddy is the biggest lab we've ever owned. She was a big beautiful brown dog and we got complimented on her looks all the time. She is the only one of our dogs that we entered in any hunt tests. She passed them both. On the first test as Kirk and Damen were bringing her back from the line someone asked them how "he" did, assuming that a dog this size must be a male. "She did great", Kirk replied.

Maddy loved to swim and had the biggest rudder of a tail of any of our dogs. She could really make it through the big water and although she was not Kirk's favorite dog to take hunting she loved to go any chance she got. She would get so excited that she could not contain herself, making little yips and yaps which caused Kirk to leave her home the next time. Brookie was happy for that as it meant more hunting for her. Maddy always had a hard time restraining herself from vocalizing her excitement. Even today as I took her for her walk she made those excited yips and yaps. All I had to do is ask "do you want to go for a walk" and the excitement begins. Maddy loved to go for a walk, loved to go back on the river to train or play, loved to swim and loved to be petted.

Everyone who has ever petted Maddy knows that once you start patting that head you are going to have a hard time stopping as Maddy would lift up your hands with her nose as if to get that action going again. She loved our attention and was ever so attentive to everyone and anyone who would give it to her. She would love to come down the hall and get a few pats from piano students or other visitors. She especially loved children and was the best of all the dogs around the grandkids. She just loved to be loved on and most kids love dogs so she was one happy dog most of the time.

Maddy was a wonderful mother dog. She produced 7 litters over her lifetime with a total of 46 puppies. She loved being a mom and was very attentive to her puppies. With her last litter a pup was born with something wrong with it. Maddy somehow knew this and was very restless for the 3 days the pup lived. When that pup finally passed away she settled down and was very content with the rest of the litter. It is amazing to me that a mother dog can sense that with her puppies when something is wrong. Maddy's pups can be found all over the United States and into Canada. We receive some great feedback from the owners of those puppies. They have become great companion dogs, wonderful hunting dogs and one also has a few hunt titles of his own.

Maddy was certainly not without faults. One bad habit she picked up early on was eating rocks out of the driveway. We simply could not keep her from eating rocks, or eating garbage or whatever she could find. There were times she would drag home a deer hide or part of a deer leg or other strange things she would find on her roaming around the neighborhood. This was back before we put in our underground fence. Maddy was the hardest dog to train to the fence. She simply did not want to surrender her freedom and her daily rounds. We did finally get her to stay home after some intense training.

Maddy's favorite place to lay was out in the sunshine or in front of the fireplace in the family room or in one of the wicker chairs on the front porch. She loved her dog house, the biggest one we have.

Last spring we had two litters of new pups. We knew we were going to keep one and so we made the decision to place Maddy and Jo with two families. I felt like it would be good for them to get to be the "family dog" rather than one of 5 dogs at our house. I knew it would be impossible to give the new pup the kind of training and attention she would need and still divide my time between the other 4 dogs we already had. We placed Jo with a great family of 4 kids with a large home on 40 acres. They had expressed wanting a dog, not a puppy. They wanted a dog that could already play fetch, wouldn't jump on and scare the kids and so Jo went to live with the Summers family out in Grant. I knew I had to find a great place for Maddy. The perfect family came forward. My nephew, Jeremy and his wife, Kelli offered to take Maddy in. They wanted a good family dog for themselves and their two boys, Karter and Justus. They also had a Jack Russell terrier named Gigi. Maddy was an instant hit. The boys loved playing fetch and Gigi loved having another dog to chase around. Jeremy and Kelly have provided a wonderful home for our big brown dog. They have taken such good care of her and the boys have loved her. I know she had some of her very best times of her life in the past 6 months at their home.

It was with much sadness that Kelli called me to let me know that Maddy had developed a cancerous mammary tumor a few weeks ago. She told me that the vet had said that given Maddy's age it was probably not a good idea to operate on the tumor or put Maddy through the rigors of chemotherapy. "Take her home and love her and let her enjoy the rest of her life" was what the vet told them and so that is what they did. The tumor was very fast growing and had become the size and hardness of a softball. Kelli and Jeremy were also facing a difficult challenge of their own as their son, Justus had been born with a kidney problem that would require surgery soon down in Salt Lake City. We called and offered to tend Maddy while they took Justus for surgery and during his recuperation. Maddy came home on Sunday, October 16th. It felt so good to have our big brown dog home and she seemed to love going for our daily walks again. Karter came to visit once during the time his parents and brother were in Salt Lake and I could tell that Maddy was very happy to see him.

After being here for nearly 2 weeks Maddy suddenly became very obsessed with her tumor, licking it constantly until it became raw and sore. I knew it was bothering her and that she was beginning to show signs of pain and suffering. I knew it was time to make the decision to let her go. A call was made to her second family and Kelli, Jeremy and the boys came up the next evening to say their goodbyes. We took Maddy for a walk together and took a few pictures. I also got the flashlight out and let her chase around the yard for old time's sake. She enjoyed herself but I could tell it was a strain for her and stopped. She slept well last night.

Today we've had a full house. Damen & Aleece came up to spend a couple of days before Chrissy & Kent move off to Washington. Kent's parents came down from Washington to help them get loaded up. Josh and Lindsey and their family came over tonight for a family dinner and get together. We miss having Sarah and Dustin with them living in Colorado.

Maddy has been the perfect family dog and we will always remember her fondly. She was resting on her bed in the family room when I invited a wonderful vet who lives nearby to come and help us send her off to doggie heaven. Another neighbor, Taylor Miller came earlier today and used their family backhoe to dig us a big hole. Kirk, Josh & Damen helped to fill in the grave afterwards and Maddy is now forever resting near the spot that she used to stand and wait for the bird and butterfly shadows. Certainly we will see her again and I have no doubt she will greet us with her big wagging tail, her excited yips and yaps, looking for some big time pats and hugs. Thanks Maddy for 12 years of unconditional love and joy. We will miss you.