Sir Walter September 1997-February 2009

Here are a few of the many photos we have of Sir Walter with our family:

Our beloved dog, Sir Walter, left us last Saturday, February 21, at about 10:15 PM. He's been a vital piece in our family puzzle (yes, we are a puzzling family) for the past 11 1/2 years and will leave a space in our hearts forever.

Sir Walter (also called Walter) was originally my sister Maren's dog. Through the years as she has grown and moved out of my parent's house to serve a mission to Brazil and recently to get married to Tim, Sir Walter has stayed with my parents (the Larsen's) and has been primarily cared for by Nana (our mom, Maxine).

He was once so small he would nearly fit in your pocket. Many of us remember him sitting by the living room window watching for family to come visit. He sat there so often the couch has a permanent imprint from his little body (Kurtis mentioned this). He loved to bark and let the family know that someone was outside & would even race to the fence barking at those walking by (just being a good watchdog, never hurting anyone).

Brooklyn remembers sleeping over at Nana and Grampa's house one time and Nana was making waffles for breakfast. Nana accidentally called Walter "Sir Waffles" and Brooklyn has enjoyed calling him "Sir Waffles" ever since. One Halloween, Brooklyn dressed up as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" (Nana sewed her costume) and Sir Walter was Toto.

Everyone seems to remember throwing stuffed toys for him so he could fetch them and bring them back. He loved to growl and wrestle with you with the stuffed animal when he retrieved it and brought it to you.

Savannah remembers Walter sitting on her lap when she would watch TV and movies at the Larsen's (Nana's) house. Walter loved to sleep in your lap or have people hold him and pet him. Savannah also remembers him sleeping by her when she would have sleepovers at Nana & Grampa's.

My parents were out of town last weekend and returning Saturday night when Eric called them and said Walter didn't seem to be acting like himself. When they arrived home, they could tell he had been waiting for them to say goodbye (he was after all very old). They took turns petting him and laying by him and my mom even sang to him. He returned to heaven surrounded by love and attention just as he had been all his life. We look forward to being with him again someday.

Eric, who lives with my parents currently, feels privileged to have been the last person to have Walter sleep near him and spend time with him at home (since my parents were gone his last couple of days).