Tribute to Stanley

"Stanley"

Show Name: Kimkell Samma Point
March 6th, 2002 - February 26th, 2011

This is a tribute to our dear "Stan Man," our beloved family member, who, for the past 9 years, has brought so much joy and love into our family home. The hilarious stories, the adorable puppy pictures, and the memorable family holidays that just wouldn't have been complete without him - all deserve to be shared and remembered.

Even though I didn't live in the same household as Stanley for most of his life, he was always there to greet me every Christmas, every Easter, and every summer vacation that brought me back home to Victoria. It just wouldn't have been complete to not walk in the back door and have Stanley jump his two front legs on to the counter, wag his tail, as he recognized my familiar voice.

My early memories of Stanley go back to when we drove up to Cedar (near Nanaimo) to Bill Renwick's farm to pick out our new family puppy!! I'll never forget pulling up in the van and being greeted by the procession of yellow labs at the fence. The two Goodman boys, Austin and Tate came with us and helped us pick out Stanley - what a sight - as you walked further back onto the property, in a large fenced in area, were at least a dozen or more yellow lab puppies, sprawled out on a green pasture, playing, sleeping, rolling around . . . it was heaven.

My first memory of Stanley at home was when he would be playing in our backyard on Wesley Road. We'd tie his rope on to the cherry tree and not 5 minutes would pass, when you hear the yelping sound from out back and he would get his rope completely wrapped around the tree.

He only lived at Wesley Road with us for about 4 or so months until the family moved out to Saanichton, but there were a lot of memories made when we lived there.

There is, of course, the memories of Stanley accompanying Joseph to Claremont School - and who could blame him! - a 3 month old puppy is irrestible! And Joseph knew it. He came home for lunch one day and asked mom if he could take Stanley to school with him for a bit - "why?" Mom asked, Joseph replied, "Because, he's a chick magnet!"

I remember taking Stanley for walks as a puppy over to Claremont track and sometimes his buddy, "Wags," the black lab puppy would come join him for some puppy play time. He loved having a buddy to play with!

Then, of course, Stanley did get bigger - a lot bigger. By 10 months, he had reached his full size and we knew he had grown into a gorgeous yellow labrador! With his shiny blonde coat, his silky ears, and dark brown eyes that could communicate a whole lot more than just, "Are you going to eat all that?"

We all know what Stanley's passions were - chasing sticks, sticks, and more sticks! Our fondest memories of Stanley involved outings to Island View Beach, Centennial Park, Todd's Inlet and Beaver Lake - all of which involved a game of stick throwing in the water. I'll never forget my mom's comparison of Stanley to a zodiac boat, hitting the waves as he bolts out into the water to retrieve his stick.

And it was always about finding a bigger and better stick! How proud he was when he had found the "jackpot stick!" His tail would wag so hard, and he would hold it so proudly in his mouth, moaning for us to ogle over his great retrieval skills.

His stick loving - retrieval skills almost got him into trouble one day when Jonathan and I and my mom all went for a walk with Stanley out to Todd's inlet. Jonathan and I had just got engaged the month before and Jonathan was meeting my parents for the first time on this visit. So, to Jonathan's horror, he ended up throwing a stick out to Stanley in the water, but Stanley was having a difficult time trying to find it, and Stanley kept swimming further and further out in the water - he was almost in the middle of the inlet when Jonathan started to worry that he may actually kill his soon to become in-laws' dog!!

Luckily, Stanley did find the stick, and returned safe and sound to the shore.

There are probably many more stories and memories to share about Stanley, and we will forever hold them in our hearts.

It will be hard to forget such times when we look over to the back sliding door where he used to sleep, and find it empty . . .

There will be lots of reminders of Stanley as we continue our lives, but I hope such reminders will only bring joyful memories of walks, holidays, family get-togethers, and love.

We love you Stanley!

And we hope you are having a great time chasing sticks with Buster up there!