>Koompa died this evening from old age. She almost made it to her 16th birthday. She had a good day, too. She ate a feast of low sodium turkey breast and spent time sniffing and sleeping in the sun in the back yard. It was a really lovely afternoon- perfectly sunny and in the 50s. Someone down the street was playing bagpipes – “Scotland the Brave” and “Amazing Grace”. It’s odd because we hadn’t heard the bagpipes before. It was beautiful and soothing and Koompa seemed to enjoy the sun and music. In fact she was trying for one last sniffing tour of the yard when her heart gave out.

For the record, Koompa’s official name, which was not nearly as long as Marky’s, was Koompa Benjunji Joy Calabrese Barton. Im not sure exactly how we got the name Koompa other than too many sugary desserts made us pick a silly name. We added the middle name Joy because Koompa was always happy. She found joy in everything! That dog knew how to make a good time. She was really the lazarus of dogs having survived hemorragic gastroenteritis twice in NYC after eating to many chicken bones in the park and possibly a little rat poison.

We have lots of really wonderful memories of Koompa, including chasing her in Williamston, swimming in the red cedar river, running the bun run 5K in Austin and having her win the canine trophy (twice!), her love of running and rolling in the grass, and lets not forget her love of chocolate (especially M&M’s from Kevin’s suitcase).

One favorite memory of Koomps is her sitting in the A/C cage in NYC, hanging over the sidewalk. She knew more people than we did, and loved the attention.

We love you Koompa!!! Have fun with Marky and Schmelly.

We’ve got to say its really hard to lose both dogs this semester. They were both 15 so its a blessing we had them that long. But it doesnt make it any easier.