On July 26, 2001, Megin Chaples from Belfast, Maine sent us this touching
tribute about a boy who couldn't bear to not be there for his family.

When I was born we had a Golden Retriever named Sunny Gold Megan. And he passed away. He was my mother's first dog, she never really had one when she was young. She was really upset and decided to go pick out another Golden Retriever puppy. She went to the place that had a barn full of Golden Retriever puppies. Little bouncing balls of energy all running up to her. And, there was one of them who sat back patiently and waited. She looked him in the eyes and said "He's the one." She had them place a little ribbon around his neck to show that he was taken, he was still too young to be taken from his mother.
   
A week or two later she went and picked him up and brought him to our home. I remember me, my brother and my parents trying to find the perfect name for him. A strong name, a name that stood for something. Me and my brother wanted to name him Spike, but my mom decided we'll name him Rangers Golden Sunny. And we called him Ranger. That dog lasted a good 13 years.
   
When I was in fourth grade my mom was in the hospital. She had Arthritis Tendenitis and Stills disease. When she was discharged and spent long days resting, that dog never left her side. She taught him everything. And he adored her. She babied him and taught him sit, shake, come, lay down, head down, get out, and for a brief period of time find mama's shoe. He was the smartest dog. And so obedient.
   
When I was nine or ten, my cat passed away and they decided to get me a dog. so we got a little Pug, and I named him Elmo. Ranger excepted Elmo into his territory and they were really close. They told us that a pug was a paper trained dog and we would never teach him to go outside. But Ranger did. Elmo eventually learned everything Ranger did. And they adored each other. They even shared water dishes.
   
My mom was in remission after being unemployed for 19 years and got a job at MBNA. We were all so proud of her. But It was hard for Ranger, he was not used to Mom being gone all day. Every time my mother left the house whether it was to the grocery store for 10 minutes or out of town shopping for hours, Ranger laid down by the door and waited for her return.
   
Ranger started to get old, his face had white hairs and he looked really old.
But the way he acted, you would think he was still a puppy! He bounced around everywhere. Last year his breath started to get kind of bad and mom told him he had the breath of death. We started to feel little lumps on the back of his head. but we never really thought of it as anything bad, maybe swollen lymph nodes. So we had him checked out and they said it was nothing to worry about.
   
Ranger was a very intelligent dog. and full of pride. He never messed in the house EVER. And he started to. He was more ashamed then I could tell. He was very sick, and he tried to hide it from us. Last week I took him out to the bathroom and he laid under the trees and refused to move. I didn't understand. He would do anything you tell him to, and he would not come. So I figured he just liked the fresh air. So I put his chain on and left him for a little while.
   
I finally realized a hour to a hour and a half had passed and it was pouring hard, hard rain so I ran outside barefoot to go get him and he was still laying there. He hadn't moved. I then unhooked him and told him to come in the house. He wouldn't move. This made no sense to me. Ranger hated the rain more then anything and he did not want to move. He then came and I brought him inside. I realized something was up so I kept a close eye on him and by the next day he was all fine, running around and jumping.
   
A week later mom picked me up from work and said Ranger would not move. He had laid there all day. He hadn't eaten and he wouldn't go outside to the bathroom so I went upstairs to see him when we got home and sat next to him and talked to him. And he looked like he was in so much pain. He couldn't even move his eyes. So I decided to brush him. He loved to be brushed, and I broke down crying and apologized for any time I had ever hurt him. He heard me cry and strained to pick up his chin and rest it on my lap.
   
I told him he had to get up he had to go outside and he did. I helped him down the stairs and he went outside. He came back in and Mom set him up a bed on the floor next to the couch and returned the favor. This time Ranger was sick and Mom didn't leave his side. She slept on the couch with him.
   
The next day I went to drivers ed and mom went to work. My friend was going to pick me up and when they were there so was my dad. He pulled up and told me he had to take Ranger to the Vet. Dad had set him up a little bed in the back and he was laying on his stomach with his head perched up. He loved rides in the car and he was just so happy to be taken out. I then gave him a hug and cried again. And Dad took him.
   
Two hours later Dad called from the vet. He told me that he found out Ranger had cancerous tumors all over his body eating away at his muscles which explained the limping and loss of fluids. He told me that the lady said Ranger has been suffering for a good two years but had stuck it out. He was such a good dog he never complained or cried or nothing. She then gave him the shot and had him put to sleep. I was really upset but happy for Ranger. He didn't need to suffer anymore. It wasn't fair to him. We told mom and she cried her eyes out.
   
It's been two days since Ranger was here. Elmo is depressed and sleeps all day. Mom carries on with work and continues to make us proud. Dad cracks a tear every now and then my brother cries too and I cry as well.
   
Ranger was a good dog, and will never be forgotten. We all loved him very much. You know they say that a dog is man's best friend, not a day will go by that I won't think about how much of a impact that dog made on our lives. We got Ranger when I was very young and I am now 17. All of my childhood memories were shared with him. He was a wonderful dog and we will miss him.