Today we attended a memorial for one of our Arizona Cattle Dog Rescue friends. Awhile back she was diagnosed with brain cancer and she recently lost that harrowing battle. We had many fun and wonderful memories together from our pack walk at the San Pedro to camping at Mt. Graham.

The celebration of life was held at a beautiful spot in Tucson. It was one of Rebecca’s favorite walks. It was also her last walk before she was diagnosed and had to be in a wheelchair.

Many of the people knew Rebecca through dogs and dogs were allowed to attend the event. Kronos came along for some socialization and Bella and Terra hung out with family back home.

After people shared, lunch was served and we went to see the photos on the table. We were honored to see photos from our outings together included with the others.

Part of the celebration was a pack walk in the “Preserve” with all the dogs. Everyone gathered by the gate and then began the walk.

People were encouraged to take roses and do whatever they wanted included keep them. Many chose to drop petals along the path down to the water.

Many dogs ran off lead once we got to the trail head. Kronos walked down to the water on lead in the group of people and dogs.

We also met one of ACDR’s current fosters named Abby and took pictures of her for the website. Kronos definitely recognizes dogs of his own breed and he enjoyed hanging out with Abby.

Once down at the water, people threw their roses in and we added ours with the others.

Cheddar, Rebecca’s French Pointer swam out and brought one of the roses back which was heart-touching. The dogs were allowed to swim if they wanted to, although it was kind of chilly. Not many other dogs swam, although Kronos did dive in a few times and loved getting to swim. On the walk back he got to run off with the other dogs, although with all of the people around and after he seemed to lose me a few times, he mostly hung by my side. Eventually he’ll learn to relax enough to run and explore.

After the walk we went back and ate a piece of carrot cake. Rebecca had been on a quest to discover the best one and she taste tested many. This cake was from the place she had declared the best.

The whole ceremony was a wonderful tribute to Rebecca and a beautiful celebration of her too short life.