Bye Hal

Today is a dark day for Ray the Blind Dog, but being a dog, he doesn't know it. (ok, I guess technically every day is a dark day for a blind dog, but you get my drift).
Today Ray's beautiful, serene, supermodel of a girlfriend, Halle, moves with her mom to the West Coast.
We saw Halle yesterday afternoon when we took a walk around the block. Ray got his final bellyrubs from Halle's mom, Sam, and I gave Halle pets and kisses.

Then, last evening, Deborah came by with Halle as I was preparing dinner. As usual, Halle gave a little skip when she saw Ray and me. She danced into the house and Ray picked up his rawhide bone to  tempt her into a game of keepaway. But this supermodel doesn't play games. She went straight to Ray's toy basket to find something else. She came out with a rawhide chip and settled down for a companionable chew. A final drink with a good friend, as it were. Ray lay down nearby with his rawhide resting on his front feet. He knew something was up but just couldn't put a paw on it.
Deborah and I watched for awhile, both of us choked-up. I pretended to be strong for Deborah's sake and kept the conversation away from the impending departure of her daughter and favorite dog. Ray is going to miss his girlfriend, but Deborah is going to have a huge hole in her house.