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Celebrating our Berner Veterans
In Loving Memory of Wilo Hidden Valley Wilo-n the Wind December 29th 2000 to July 18th 2013 So much loved and now so very sadly missed by Jane Boone and Theo Coxe 
Last May - when she was 12 years and 5 months Every Berner is a unique gift to the world, and admittedly I am unabashedly partial, but Lorna Felice's Hidden Valley Wilo-n-the-Wind was one particularly gorgeous, healthy and confident Berner, beautiful in appearance, heart and soul, gracious and serene inside and out. As a devoted lover and breeder of Berners, Lorna knew many wonderful Berners, but I am told Wilo was truly one of her most beloved. She stayed close during Lorna's life, illness and passing in 2008. Although I did not know Lorna, it is easy for me to understand why she loved Wilo so dearly. Wilo was all one could possibly hope for in a Berner. She exuded an exceptionally calm and sweet nature, a remarkable beauty and a dignified graceand confidence. Wilo earned both of her American and Canadian championships and has four recorded litters in the Berner-Garde, 20 pups in all. As a mother, grandmother, great and great-great grandmother, and a frequent presence in show rings, Wilo was known and beloved throughout the Berner community. After Lorna's passing in 2008, Wilo was placed with Linda MacNichol and her two sweet Berners Rufus and Rosie. Linda loved Wilo dearly enough to recognize she would be happiest as an "only" in a home where she could be the sole focus of her people's devotion. Terri Zimmerman and Elizabeth Pearson kindly chose to place Wilo with Theo Coxe and me on October 18, 2008. From that day forward, Wilo lived out her days loved beyond all measure by both of us. She kept close to us always, positioning herself most conveniently to be brushed, hugged, kissed, slavishly pampered, rubbed, thumped, petted, enjoyed, snuggled, cooed over and adored. To keep her healthy and fit, we took her on ambling walks and fed her a special mix of kibble, pumpkin, ground turkey and occasional fresh fruit and vegetables. We enjoyed and photographed her in every possible setting: running through a snowy orchard, at the beach with her fur blown back by the wind, curled up on the sidewalk with the neighborhood children, spread out full sprawl on a kitchen floor on Christmas morning, sporting a Phillies cap after Theo's team won the World Series, lolling in the garden flowers, trotting around the Veteran's ring with Elizabeth Pearson at the Berner Specialty in Portland, Oregon in May of 2009. We took our beloved girl everywhere - she loved to ride in cars. Like a baby, she would conk out the minute she flopped down in the car and we were underway. She went to school with Theo and curled up on a cool carpeted floor under his desk or spread out in the gym weight room and watched as people worked out. Silly people. She was as gracious and patient with strangers who stopped us in the street and asked to have their photo taken with her as she was with the students and faculty who came to visit and pet her. She travelled with us by ferry from her weekday life in Seattle to Bainbridge Island on weekends. She liked the cool grasses and shady trees of farm life. She was mildly curious about the neighbor's horses on the other side of the fence, but mostly she just wanted to dig up and flop down with a big oomph in the coolest spot in her two acres of garden. She went on daily walks, setting her own leisurely pace, but she much preferred to be transported by car. Occasionally, while on a walk around the neighborhood, she would stop, sit down by the door of a parked car and stare directly into our eyes, pleading with us to get a clue and take her for a fun ride instead of a walk, for pete's sake. Keenly observant and uncannily smart, she had the highest emotional intelligence of any dog I have known; she had a rare ability to appear calm in any situation. We were deeply grateful to be Wilo's primary companions - and she ours - for the past 5 years. She was cared for by many friends who loved her and Lorna. Wilo gave back much more than she took. On Wilo's behalf, we are especially grateful to Dr. Cindy Geisler for her brilliant, sensitive, kind and loving care. She was unfailingly compassionate answering my endless questions and concerns as Wilo neared her time. Terri Zimmerman generously helped me work through the struggle to know how to choose what would be in Wilo's best interest. On the afternoon of July 18, with the kind and gentle assistance of Dr. Marta Nobrega and her compassionate colleagues at Mercy Vet in Mercer Island, Washington, WIlo passed from this world. Once can hope Lorna was there to welcome her with open arms and a glad heart. It's been just three days. In time, that number will be 30 or 300 days. I trust I will be able to walk through the house and gardens without looking for her everywhere, all the time. For now, I miss our girl so much my skin hurts, it is difficult to sleep without a big, beautiful Berner crowding out my side of the bed, I am whipping through Costco packs of Kleenex and the Grand Canyon has picked up and moved into the empty place my heart used to be located. I know this sadness, as overwhelming as it is right now, pales in comparison to the astonishing gift Theo and I experienced in five years of this special Berner girl sharing her life with us. She was our Canine Beauty Queen. She glammed up the joint beyond measure, she was our joy. 
9 years old, and shows her joyful calm in the wind. 
Relaxing on the brick of our Bainbridge Island terrace when she was 10 and a half For now, my only wish is for sweet Wilo to be remembered and celebrated in equal measure to the abundant joy she gave to so many during her long, wonderful life on this earth. Thank you all in the Berner-L Community. Jane Boone Seattle, Washington *Veteran Berners Home Page* *Samson's Story *My Gang *Sunny,Simmy,Barney,Pixie,Herb *Friend's Gallery *In Loving Memory* *Histio Roll Call *Berner Veterans *Bernese Art *Berner Fun Stuff *Berner Articles & Info* *Berner Shop *Longlease Links. *Humour. *Guestbook. *Berner Fundraisers *LostandFound *Rescue* *Recent Updates* *Longlease Bernese Mountain Dogs Home Page* |
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