Goodbye my good friend

Last month I had the difficult experience of saying goodbye to a good friend who was part of my life for 11 years. That friend was my dog Copper.

Our family adopted her from the Humane Society in Moses Lake back in 2003. She was a golden retriever/chow mix, and her name fittingly came from her coat color.

Over the years she was usually my constant companion, whether on walks around town, during days at the church, or during my work at the WSU Lind Dryland Research Station where she loved having the run of the world.

The day I had to say farewell happened to be Ash Wednesday, the beginning of L...