Sadly, John Zehnder and I had to say good-bye to our good friend, Caleb after a 4 day search on the Zehnder Ranch, above Invermere. John & I found his remains deep in the woods and realized he had been killed (quickly and efficiently) by a cougar.
As anyone who was fortunate enough to befriend Caleb knew he carried a huge spirit within, and that, combined with his keen intelligence, outrageous character and love of life itself won him many, many friends over the last 2 years. Caleb was also pretty whacky. He had terrible fear-aggression neurosis with people, and was never far from harm's way. I had him for 17 months, and during that time I was on 24/7 alert for his safety, and the safety of anyone who came into contact with him.
At the end of last summer, John quietly, gently and assuredly assumed Caleb's care on their ranch. John was a devoted owner and companion to Caleb, and Caleb adored him. John taught him more than I ever imagined possible, on sheep, doing search and rescue work, but most importantly, not to be afraid of people anymore. For three months Caleb was aggression free with strangers. Caleb lived a full and love-filled life in the time he spent, first with me (5 months at the cabin!) and then with John (2,800 acres of paradise!). I let him go knowing that we couldn't have done anything more for him. Caleb was Special Needs (a term my sons coined for him) rescue dog, and god only knows what happened to him in that first year of his life that made him so vicious with strangers. But he brought so much to my life, and to John's that he won our hearts over in equal measure.
Life feeds on life, and Caleb is now part of that stunningly beautiful and powerful animal, the cougar, and for me there is comfort in that. A fitting transition on one life into another, I think.
