On Sept. 13 2000 I had to have our dog, Yeller, put to sleep. This was the hardest single thing I have ever had to do. He had reached a point in his life where he could not walk or stand. I miss him a great deal. My daughter and I have shed many tears since that day. I have told my daughter, Sherri that Yeller will always be with us in our hearts and in our minds. The following is a story about Yeller. I went to the Animal Shelter one day to look for a pet for my children. As I walked around a little furry puppy came running up to the front of his cage, all excited. I took one look at him and knew that this was the pet for my family. after talking with employees I found that I had to wait a couple days before this dog became available. I returned on the day he was available and found others waiting for the same dog. I was heartbroken, thinking i would not get this dog. It was decided that the names of everyone there would be put into a hat and whoever had their name drawn would get the dog. I won and got to take this little puppy home. I brought this puppy home from the Animal Shelter in the Spring of 1988 to a one year old daughter and a three year old son. They were very happy and excited to see this puppy. I told my son to pick out a name. I told him to look at the dog, and whatever name he came up with is what we would name it. Now you have to understand that this puppy was mostly black with long hair. I asked my son what he thought the dog looked like, he said a bear. I then asked what he thought we should name him and without hesitating he said "Yeller", which of course just happened to be his favorite movie at the time. So this part shepherd and part who knows what became Yeller. Over the years Yeller was a good pet, my children loved him and so did I. He was great with my kids and protected them. If I was wrestling with them he would come over and grab my arm, not bite, just grab hold. As the years passed my daughter became the one who always made sure Yeller was loved, she would hug him, lay her head on him (even when he was past due for a bath) and talk with him. yellers' health started slipping a couple of years ago. He started having trouble walking and standing. There was nothing that could be done to stop this process. He had good days and bad days. Towards the end I don't think he had any good days. I received a call at work on Sept. 13 from my wife. She said Yeller could not get up and was whimpering. I went home to see him. He could no longer stand on his own and could only take a couple of steps if he was assisted in getting up. The day I had dreaded was here and I called the vet. My daughter stayed home from school that day, there was no way she could have gone. Sherri and I sat outside with Yeller in his last couple of hours with us. We then helped him into the house where I cooked up some meatballs for him to eat. At 11:00 a.m. I took yeller to the Vet's. Everything from that point on is just a blur. I held him until he was gone, kissed him on his head, and said I was sorry and that I would see him later. He was a great pet and friend. I miss him very much as does Sherri. I have a picture in my office of the day I brought him home and I pet it all the time. I hope some day to see him again. Thanks for having this forum, I needed to write something so Yeller will be remembered. Yeller, we miss you.