She was special from the start…….
As a puppy, she was gentle natured, calm, and affectionate. Vixen would lay sound asleep in my arms, gently lifting her head to lick my nose. I knew there was something magical about her, something different. As she grew, her wondrous personality began to bloom into a vision of sweetness, compassion and kindness. There was a playful silliness about her. I remember the time she got her head stuck in the kitty litter box. She reared up and tried to break free of the blue litter box, thrashing around, slamming the box into the wall causing the box to break in half, creating a blast of kitty litter spray that sent her running, wide eyed, for her life. She ran to me looking for protection from the persecuting litter box.
Time went by, as it does, while Vixen grew big, she grew strong, but more than anything, she grew beautiful. Her eyes were large amber pools of intellect and emotion. Her coat, soft as a rabbit, thick and plush. There was nobility in her soul, in fact, she came to be nicknamed “ The Queen.” People in public were drawn to her. Everywhere we went, we were swept away by the crowd of curious admirers. I knew that one day she would bring something special into my breeding lines, but even I had no clue how powerful her influence would be.
Magik was in her name, and apparently, it flowed through her veins as well. Vixen was the founding dam of the Winters Magik line of Western Timber Dogs. From her first litter it was clear that her gentle nature and intellect shined through with all of her puppies. Almost immediately, the Winters Magik line became the most desirable line in the WTDAA. She spawned the most trainable and most gentle Western Timber Dogs we have ever experienced. Her gentle nature continues with her sons, daughters and grandbabies.
An unexplainable understanding of the human world was obvious. I could speak to Vixen like I would speak to a person, she just seemed to understand. And, although she couldn’t speak, her eyes could always communicate for her. There was a Christmas Eve storm that knocked out the power for days. I had never used my fireplace before, but now it was time to fire it up. I opened the flue and built a nice crackling fire. We laid on the floor near the fire and I began to play on my phone while she laid snoozing beside me. After a while, Vix got up and used her nose to knock the phone out of my hand. “ Vixen!” I said. She looked at me and I knew she wanted something. I tried my best to look around the pitch black house, but I didn’t see what she wanted. I told her to lay down and went back to playing on my phone. A minute later, again, she knocks the phone out of my hand. I thought maybe she doesn’t like being so close to the fire, so I moved a few feet back and went back to my game of Solitaire. The next time, she used her mouth to snatch the phone out of my hand and toss it across the room. “ Vixen! Get outside!” The Queen jumped up happily and headed for the door, turning back every few feet to make sure I was coming. It was only when I opened the back door that I could see the thick, black smoke pouring out of the door. The house was full of smoke! Our Magik Lady had saved all of our lives.
From the day I met her, I never imagined a life without her and not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. I see her in her daughter, Gemma, and in her granddaughters. Families who have her sons and daughters call to tell me stories of their dogs and I think to myself “ That’s Vixens magik!” She was the most golden soul I’ve ever known, and I am eternally grateful that I was loved by her. I will see you again, at the Rainbow Bridge.
– Long live The Queen
March 28,2022
