Steve is teaching Stella, the new Australian Shepherd, how to stay. We adopted Stella, who is 4 months old, after our previous dog, Scooter, died a couple months ago.

Moments

Date published: 11/27/2006

M y husband, Steve, and I lost one of our best friends 21/2 months ago. She was only 11 years old. Her name was Scooter and she was our Australian Shepherd.

Through our enduring friendship, Scooter became our faithful companion. She brought warmth, love, chaos and humor into our daily lives. Not a day went by that she didn't run to greet us when we came home. She couldn't wag her tail because she didn't have one; instead she would wag her whole rump.

Our beloved friend is gone, but she left us to rediscover lessons about love, loss and lasting friendships. Her last day was spent chasing tennis balls and taking the opportunity to smell everything in sight--for a dog, that's sort of like stopping to smell the roses. In other words, she lived life to the last minute.

So what lessons can we learn from our dogs? Here are a few Scooter left with us:

1. Live in the moment and seize the day!

2. You're never too old to play.

3. Make the people you love feel welcome when they come home (maybe even with a sloppy kiss).

4. Take advantage of every opportunity for a long nap.

5. Be a loyal friend.

Life just wasn't the same without a dog in our lives. A few weeks after Scooter died, we adopted our new dog, Stella. I like to call her the "chow hound." We want to be good dog owners, so we enrolled her in obedience school at Pup 'N Iron in Stafford.

At 4 months old, Stella is learning her manners. Steve and I have spent hours teaching her to sit, stay, lie down and wait.

But she's also teaching us. And we love her for it.

Date published: 11/27/2006