Our Boxer, Elliot Carter McDonald (named after great composer Elliott Carter) was with us 4 short years. In that time I took many hundreds of photos. Here are a few:
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- We first saw Elliot when he was two week old. We visited again when he was about 4 weeks old. His mother, Angel, was very protective. She had soft, expressive eyes. Elliot inherited her looks and eyes.
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- At 3 weeks His eyes were still blue. He was little more than a sausage with little legs.
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- At about 6 weeks Elliot was a playful pup full of mischief. The breeder’s 21 year old daughter took a shine to Elliot. I thought we might have gained a daughter… He was so cute…
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- Valentine’s Day and Elliot’s first day home. He terrorized all of the other animals. It was full go at all times.
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- When Elliot was too much of a terror I “timed him out” by putting him in my lap, as in this shot. His favorite place in the world for the rest of his life was daddy’s lap. All I would have to do is sit and Elliot would magically appear. This is something I’ll miss….
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- The inquisitive bugger is beginning to look like a boxer…. When he was about this age he bit my nose. It bled quite a bit. Through his life he often tried to bite it but I usually turned away. A couple of weeks ago I let him get it. He just mouthed it and let it go. He didn’t go for it again even though I tried to get him interested in it as I lay by his side over his last week. Maybe getting it that one last time was enough…
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- I love this shot with his sister Sushi.
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- He was always active and loved going outside. He leaped and lunged. Remember this “pose”…
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- A private joke…
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- Can’t catch me… His eyes looked that way when he played up to the end…
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- Chewing a ball. He always liked chase, but the first year of his life you couldn’t get anything back.
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- Visiting Ohio. Elliot loved chase, particularly as a puppy. It took my nephew a half an hour to get his ball back…
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- In Ohio. He kept taking logs off of my father’s wood pile and running off with them. He’d chew them up. Some of the logs were as big as he was at the time…
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- In June of 2010 and Elliot gets his first ride in the kayak. If I went out in the boat he had to be with me, but he did sometimes get nervous and would hang on me making it difficult to paddle.
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- Hanging on the picnic table on the Cape.
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- We spoiled him. Here he is begging for scrap of human food.
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- Fast forward seven months and we find Elliot is looking very mature, most of the puppy fat burned off.
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- Something about this picture… This is a look Elliot gave often. I don’t have a picture of him “kidney-beaning”, folding himself in half with nose near butt as his tail wags so fast you can’t see it. Wish I did since that is another look you often saw in him.
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- Swimming. Elliot loved to swim. We usually used a life jacket to keep his hind end up, but he would often jump into the water on his own. Cape Cod in 2011.
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- Almost 2. Getting mature. Still a boxer…
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- The long winter is over and Elliot can lounge outside again. This is how he looked for the rest of his life: this is Elliot. He often stared at me. What’s going on behind those eyes?
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- A profile just a few moments after the last picture
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- I always thought he was a very handsome boy. His legs were a little longer than many boxers. This enabled him to counter-surf like no other…
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- Elliot loved to swim. One time we were in Maine and he just jumped off the dock and started swimming around for no reason. This is Little Pleasant Bay in Orleans, MA on the Cape. We visited this place twice a year and he loved every second. In 2013 we started splitting our Cape time with Dennis…
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- Almost Christmas, 2012. He was very expressive.
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- Elliot had to be kept on leash when outside through most of 2013. He got skunked, ran off a few times and caused some problems. In October the tourists finally left the Cape and we could let him run free on Chapins Beach. He looks so happy….
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- The end of December and back to Chapins. This is the picture I will keep to remember him…
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- Running on Chapins beach at the end of December. Almost 4 years had gone by and he was still leaping and bounding just like the earlier picture, only now he showed more mastery. Unfortunately not for much longer.
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- The last picture I took of Elliot. We had just driven back from the Cape. We thought the travel had worn him out and he’d be better the next day. The next day, Monday 2/3, he could barely walk and had trouble standing by evening.
Most pictures are, of course, his puppy-hood.
(Note – Click on an image to bring up slideshow with captions)
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I was just checking in are y’all doing ok?
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Thanks Sonya. Yes, a bit better. Obvious think about him a lot but at least I can talk about him without breaking down….. (unlike on Tuesday)
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Oh I’m so sorry Trent. Such sad news :(
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Thanks Eva. He’ll be missed greatly.
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I love the pictures it is so amazing how fast they grow. He was way to young to leave this earth so soon. I see so much of Daisy in him those running leaps, the playing keep away. She also has to be kept on a leash here because she runs off and wants me to chase her across 2 acres or more. Its been cold so I do not play that game very well. I know you both will miss him so much. Nice gallery.
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Thanks Sonya. They do grow so fast – I took a new batch of photos every couple of weeks for several months and the changes were remarkable. There is something special about boxers and they do love to run. And yes, he left us way, way too soon…..
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So sorry.
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Thanks. Doing this photo-memorial is therapeutic…
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