Dear Friends & Family: This morning Daisy went to Heaven in peace to be with her Daddy, Kody.

She was 14 years and 6 months old……born on the OBX, at Rodanthe, among 4 sisters and 6 brothers.
She was the pick of the litter !
Her full, official name was Kody's Okelani Daisy. Okelani is Hawaiian from her Daddy's side and means "from Heaven" … and she surely was that too !
She beat the Boxer odds and predictions and lived longer, while having a truly wonderful life.
However, from about the middle of '21 she began a slight decline & about 5 days ago, she couldn't stand up to walk & needed to be carried and stopped eating/drinking…her "quality of life' disappeared. . During all this time there was no complaining from her about anything, or hearing that hurting yelping sound which doges make when in pain, etc.. She just went with the flow, as she's did during her life. She was a trooper !
She loved: road trips (sitting in the same seat on the left side of the van so she could see things and smell the wind thru her special window); she loved being on the OBX beach and doing walks around the 4 neighborhoods where she lived during her life (especially Colington Harbor/the Wright Brothers Monument), Spring Grove (where she played with doggies Bella, Henry and Teddy); Fernley, the Piankatank cottage and her last home, in Hansford Circle (slowly walking on the pier was a thrill for her while watching Susan gather crabs from the pots, to being with pier visitors (like with granddaughter Anneke trying to catch …something !
Her zest for life led her to seeing and doing many happy & grateful things, like visiting the Sunday School class with her brother, to boating in the Albemarle Sound, to opening her own Christmas presents.
She liked talking too (not barking), and those cute sounds meant she wanted to tell you something or to voice her opinion. Even when she began slowing down & losing that famous voice, she still tried talking while she could with a deep-type muffling sound and sorta jumping up & down for attention.
She tried her best to always keep up with whatever was going on without stopping or whining. At one point when she lost her running ability in her hind leges, she switched to "hop-a-long" with flappy ears. So funny to see this, but it worked, and she was still happy, so you go girl, you doing fine !
She was the sweetest dog known, she liked babies in strollers & their efforts to touch her, along with the many visits to Home Depot, banks, hospitals, etc. where employees & people enjoyed her presence & gave her treats for sitting down and shaking paws.

She fulfilled her mission in training her 5-year-old brother, Grady, as best as she could to be an outstanding last Boxer for her owner. She met many people in her life & please know you have been very special to her & to her owner. Plus, many thanks to Dr. Bonnie Cline (& the terrific staff at Bon Air Animal Hospital for their wonderful care of Daisy thru the years), and this morning, to Dr. "V" and staff at Animal Care of Mathews and to Gregg Faulkner and Jo, of River Country Pet Cremation for their gentle way of helping Daisy.

Lastly, she borrowed the below part from Kody's goodbye…plus from above, again she was trooper, she defied the stats, and, like Kody, she'll always will be around in my book & watching me! when you can, please take time to listen to this (sound on): with emphasis on the last part of the song, where Johnny Cash sings:
The Highwaymen "…..and when I reach the other side, I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can………or…. I may simply be a single drop of rain, but I will remain and I'll be back again and again and again and again and again and again …….."


A Dog's Prayer
by Beth Norman Harris

Treat me kindly, my bellowed keeper,
for no heart in all the world is more
grateful for kindness than the loving
heart of me.
Do not break my spirit with a stick,
for though I should lick your hand
between the blows, your patience and
understanding will more quickly teach
me the things you would have me do.
Speak to me often, for your voice is
the world's sweetest music, as you
must know by the fierce wagging of
my tail when I hear your footsteps
falling upon my waiting ear.
When it is cold and wet, please take
me inside, for I am now a domesticated
animal, no longer used to bitter elements.
And, I ask no greater glory than the
privilege of sitting at your feet by the
hearth. Though had you no home, I
would rather follow you through ice and
snow than rest upon the softest pillow
in the warmest home in all of the land,
for you are to me, my father and I am so
devoted to be your child.
Keep my pan filled with fresh water,
as I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.
Feed me clean food, that I may stay well,
to romp and play and do your bidding, to walk
by your side, and stand ready, willing and
able to protect you with my life should
should you be in danger.
And, should the great Master see fit
to deprive me of my health or sight, do
not turn me away from you. Rather
hold me gently in your arms as skilled
hands grant me the merciful way to
eternal rest – and I will leave you
knowing with the last breath I drew,
my fate was ever safest in your hands.