12/22/2025
To All the Dogs We've Loved Before
In Loving Memory:
Astra Del Re, the Boss Lady
Mahtoh L.
Ube S.
Betsy & Ben O.
Wilbur N.
Woody M.
Jax R.M.
Leon B.
Hank C.
Baxter H.
Acorn L.
Chalky S.
Tilly B.
Dori D.
Gila M.
Augie S.
Tancred F.
If we inadvertently missed your dogs name (Canine Center family and friends), please feel free to add them here so that we may honor their memory.
Dear Canine Center Family and Friends,
The last few years have been a strange, and sometimes painful journey. As our society has moved through the pandemic and its fallout, we have been confronted with many tough moments. Through all of life's ups and downs, those of us who cannot live without dogs know that their presence in our lives makes these time bearable. We have lost a lot of our long-time canine friends the last 18 months, but many more along the journey since our opening in October 2010. We are so grateful to have had them in our lives, and sad to see them go. But, without their presence providing gentle counsel, comic relief, and the occasional baffled look, the world would be less bright. I do not regret a single one of my canine companions. There have been more than a few, the crazy dog lover that I am. I miss them all and would not trade the time I had them as teachers and friends. As I type this, I have a head under each arm.
This is the first time I have been able to put this out in the public. Astra, Trail Spotter and Summits Chemin de Fer, aka Boss Lady, came into his world on Mar 22, 2013. She as the 9th of 9, 1 of 2 females, the runt, and named The Pink Pistol by her breeder for her precocious and tenacious personality. When I saw her, eyes still closed, be the first to wander away from the puppy pile to investigate the puppy pad, and then use it, it was love. She made me a far better trainer and dog keeper. Her strong will and sense of self did not tolerate anything less than my best. She did not even have a Too Bad program to speak of, because it would not have been effective. We spent all of our time on learning and practicing what TO DO, and it brought joy to our whole house to watch that little beer stealing, bossy puppy take over the world as we knew it. The countless puppies she mentored into well balanced adults, the worried and reactive dogs she led out of angst, the dog lover she made Jim, and the compass she provided me will live on as her legacy. I often think in the moment "what would Astra do?" Poor Whitney has some pretty deep pawprints to fill. Her Aunt Astra left some great life lessons with her, though. I am lucky to get a second amazing girl to keep me company now.
Astra left this world sooner than we had hoped, but as she did everything, it was on her terms. She spent the morning wading in her creek in front of the house, enjoying a gentle misting rain on a temperate day in mid -July. Then, she came up on the front porch laid down on her bed, and checked out. When the vet arrived, she did her one last duty to announce an intruder, and then she was gone. The hole in our lives and pack is yet to scab over. But we have 4 dogs of our own left, and countless of yours to help us remember her and welcome the new members as they come, Boss Lady style. If you check our FB page there are a couple of reels I have reposted in memorial. Halcyon days. (feel free to post your memories of our extended family as well)
With tears and a smile,
Jane Byrd Del Re
owner
