Jackie (right), Jillie (left)

Eva was a beautiful looking dog, with a reserved, dignified manner. The first time we came across her, years ago, was when she was about six months old, and focused on tracking. We were on a forest trail in our neighbourhood ravine, and she was alone, and as we watched, she ran swiftly across one trail at a junction onto another, then returned, knowingly sniffing the ground as she proceeded. It was clear that she was looking for someone.

That someone was the slightly-built, middle-aged blonde woman who was walking another, much older dog, a heavyset Golden Retriever. Eva had been adopted as both a companion to the Golden and someone meant to be there when the older dog shuffled off this mortal coil. Which wasn't too long in happening, and then Eva became the only dog in that family. She had been exploring the ravine, gone too far out of sight and was soon so distant that calls for her return eluded her. So she was managing on her own to find her way back.

She will no longer ever have to find her way back since she has now been reunited with her original companion. Her owners had never been aware of heartworm and what a threat it posed to animals untreated to inoculate them from its sometimes lethal  effect. At six years of age her vulnerable system had been invaded, and she grew progressively weaker and thinner from the effects of the pestilence. Treatment was expensive and didn't seem to help. And then, finally, she was gone.

Rob, a friend who lives on the same street as Eva's people do, informed us about a week ago that they now have another dog. Eva's death hit those people hard, she meant to them what the loss of a family member leaves behind, a sense of deep bereavement. It's been at least a year since they lost her. And now they found a three-month-old, sleek black and beautiful Lab-hound mix. Eva's beauty derived from her mixed-hound heritage.

And this little fellow has been named Kyra. The original Kyra had been an extraordinarily small and wonderfully active little Schnauzer who lived on that same street. Everyone knew Kyra, you could hear her excited little squeals of pure joy from quite a distance and knew she was approaching. She lived considerably longer than Eva did, and it wasn't disease or illness that took Kyra, but sheer old age. As it did our Button. These were all familiars to one another, companions-at-play at one time in the past.

We were walking the trails with our own two little black Poodles. And they, with their superior sense of hearing and olfactory senses, knew that someone was approaching much beyond where we could see as the trail looped around through the forest. Soon they ran ahead in their usual unruly manner, barking ferociously. And soon we reached them, calling to no avail for them to return. And there we saw a small black puppy cowering uncertainly before the onslaught of two very rude and bumptious dogs, crowding her space.

Her companion, the blonde woman's husband, knew Jackie and Jillie and just stood back to allow the natural process of socialization to take place. As Jackie and Jillie leaped back and forth and little Kyra realized they were just stupid, not threatening, she emerged from the bracken among which she had attempted to shelter herself from the bedlam that had greeted her. She took a few exploratory leaps toward our two, and they quickly retreated, alarmed at the puppy's energy and unexpected reaction.

Kyra and Jackie

The tide quickly turned as the puppy commenced to happily gain confidence and resort to what puppies do best; leaping toward our two to contest them for energy and enthusiasm, inviting them in  her puppy way to play with them. Although only three months old, Kyra already weighed more than either Jackie or Jillie did and could readily contest them for stamina and dedication to physical tumbling about. She ran after one and then the other, using her swift little front paws to do a little boxing of her own.

On this encounter, Kyra's education advanced significantly, and Jackie and Jillie's took a bit of a stumble.