This past spring, we cleared out the old dog yard and burned all the old dog houses and platforms. It was a relief to finish the task, but also a sad day as it marked the end of an era in our home. Even with all the equipment removed from the yard, some of our dogs have still left their mark… like Egil.
First let me introduce you to Egil. He was a white Siberian Husky with little grey ticking over his brown eyes. For a male he was on the petite side, high energy, incredibly strong for his size and an amazing sleddog. With a personality much larger than his physical stature he was often a favorite of people who met the dogs. He was wiggly and loved attention.
And he loved to steal gloves. Especially if you were walking by and not paying attention to him. I am not talking about gloves out of your pocket. Egil would try to steal them right off your hand and he was quite good at it. He had a very soft mouth and figured out how to get a hold of a glove just enough that he could pull it off your hand, especially the heavier gloves or mittens. Okay, he would steal them out of your pocket too. And no, his quirky personality did not end there.
Our yard was set up such that each dog had their own dog house on top of their platform. Close enough so they could play, but they also had their own space to retreat to. Egil’s house was call The Leaning Tower of Egil. No matter how many time we filled in the holes he would dig, the next day they would be back.
And they weren’t your normal holes, they were more like canyons. And he didn’t dig in the middle of his area, he liked to dig under his platform and under at least one of the legs. So when he would jump on his platform it would wobble.
This was an ongoing thing all of Egil’s adult life. Towards the end he was winning and his platform was at a 20-degree angle and rather stable since he had managed to dig out under two of the platform legs with a huge pit under his platform.
So now when we walk in the old dog yard, The Egil Canyon is still there. We keep the grass cut short so you can see it, otherwise it is a bit of a shock when you suddenly drop down a foot or two when walking along.
The dog yard is empty and Egil-man has been with his buddies at the Rainbow Bridge for a number of years, but his legacy lives on in our yard and in our hearts.