As I gave Coaltrain back to his creator today, I realized once again I lost more of Montana, his mother. This memorial is dedicated to the two most wonderful dogs I have ever owned.
Montana came to me as a gift from a dear friend in 1991 when she was only 5 weeks old, even then she let us know she was going to be special. A beautiful Rottweiler (and a little Lab) mix. That girl was up for anything. She loved to travel and it didn't matter if it was in my truck or if she could find a place to sit on my Harley. She probably saw more of the United State than most people. When she was around 4 she gave birth to a litter of puppies. The father was a local junkyard dog who was smart enough to slink around for a week and climb the fence when no one was looking. We could only hope we would end up with a litter of puppies as smart as the two of them, as good looking as her and with wonderful homes for all. Our prayers were answered, with the exception of one puppy that just didn't look quite like the rest...he was the first one out, was twice the size of the others and spent the first 5 hours of his life in my shirt pocket as I tried to convince Montana, that having puppies was a wonderful thing. I named this puppy Coaltrain. For a few reasons, but mostly because when he was coming out I thought he would never end, he came out rear feet first.
We lost Montana to a stroke in August of 2003. I didn't think Coal would do well on his own, but he actually blossomed into the most wonderful companion dog for my mother and a wonderful friend to me.
Enough words...please enjoy the photos. The first ones are of Montana, then of her and her litter, then Montana and Coaltrain...and than Coal on his own.
I want to thank Jeff Clausen for photos taken over the years, he knew them well and Faye of Cleveland Photographic Design who got some great shots of Coal and my mother.