August 6, 2007

Oh, my heart. Marianne told me that my literary hero, Trixie Koontz, passed away. I am sad.

Trixie was a retired CCI dog. She lived with Dean and Gerda Koontz. She wrote two books, and monthly columns for her Dad's website. Trixe was wise and funny, and taught me many things. Marianne says humans learned from Trixie, too.

Here's an excerpt from her book called "Life is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living:"

"Accept affection. Encourage affection. Position yourself in hallway or other high-traffic area. As giver-of-affection approaches, look cute, reach out with one paw, then roll onto back with all four paws in the air, offering glorious furry belly for rubbing. If you don’t have glorious furry belly this might not work as well for you as does for me."

See how wise she was? I ask for belly rubs all the time. Marianne says it's "solicitous" and will get me in trouble in Advanced Training. Harumph. I think Trixie knows more than Marianne; after all, she GRADUATED from CCI College.

And Trixie was FUNNY. Trixie made me laugh so hard I had to go outside to Hurry. Her April Fool's Day column was classic. I can't wait to try her trick on Marianne. Shhh -- don't tell. You can read the entire column at http://www.deankoontz.com/trixie/archive/april-fools.php. Don't blame me if it makes you laugh so hard you have to Hurry.

Trixie's Dad wrote a beautiful tribute to her at http://www.deankoontz.com/trixie/monthly-columns.php. Kleenex Alert.

Too sad. Time to cheer up; Trixie would rather we laugh than cry. I'm going to go ask Marianne for a belly rub. And bacon, in Trixie's honor.

Chow for now!

Parker

Questions or comments for Parker? Send them to call7forhelp@thedenverchannel.com.

Would you like more information about Canine Companions for Independence, or perhaps be a puppy raiser? Call 1-800-572-BARK or go to www.cci.org for details.