Named Right, Berkeley!
Happy Berkeley - with dirt in her mouth and a stick at her feet!
Berkeley walked into our lives 9 years ago, during Thanksgiving. She was a Golden but with an Irish Cream mother, which made her white gold, speckled with yellow gold. When we took her out in the morning sun, she looked extraordinary and almost angelic. She attracted comments and looks everywhere she went. Even non-dog lovers commented that she had a beautiful face. Her beauty was definitely not hair-deep, she was a gentle dog who loved to eat, play and receive non-stop petting from every visitor that came home. She was so sweet that many people who feared dogs lost their fear and could not stay away from petting her. Most of all, she was super intelligent, quite shrewd and knew exactly how to behave based on the situation. Hence, living up to her name, Berkeley!
Our older son Satya, was at UCal, Berkeley, when she first arrived home and what started as a joke to name her Berkeley, stuck with her. The breeder had said she had an "ON" and an "OFF" switch. Berkeley taught us what that was. When she was "ON," she would be hyper, super energetic, just excited and all over the place. The "OFF" switch was triggered with a pat on her head and she would suddenly be mellow, super calm and composed. She did pull Houdini stunts when she was crated as a puppy and made huge messes when nobody was home. She was super smart, really easy to train and learned all the tricks really fast. When my mother was sick, she found solace in watching Berkeley play with a rope tied to a tree as she entertained herself in the backyard. Yet, when my mother got critically ill, Berkeley was intuitive and did not leave her bedside. My mother asked for her to be around and felt comforted by her calm presence during her last days.
Berkeley loved her brothers, knew their names - Satya and Sathwik, greeted them with joy as they arrived home after school and during breaks at college. She absolutely went insane with joy when we mentioned hike, walk or drive. When we lived in Seattle, she enjoyed long hikes in the Cascades. She hiked on many trails of Mt. Rainier and down to the Narada falls every year. When we moved to Virginia, she explored Shenandoah, Blue Ridge mountains and weekly vists to Great Falls Park, along with walks around DC with mom and dad. She was super thrilled whenever we went on long drives to visit her brothers at Virginia Tech.
Her favorite past time in our home in Virginia was to chase flocks of geese. All we had to do was say the word "Geese" and she would dart out the door at the speed of a bullet and chase them out of our yard. She was extremely intelligent and well trained - never once did she go onto the busy road in front of our super long driveway. She would go till the edge and turn back. She knew exactly what the perimeter of our property was and even though we did not have fences, she did not venture into the neighbor's yards when instructed not to. When it rained, she knew I was not a fan of her muddy paws and stayed on the driveway. She was of course, Berkeley, the smartest dog in the house! She also loved her neighbor dogs, Bourbon and Bolt and the three ran around mischievously whenever they saw each other. She enjoyed visiting and being around Baba - mostly to help him clean up bits of snacks that fell to the floor from his arthritis hands - or so he claimed!
Well, Berkeley, you have been an awesome dog, a fantastic companion to each of us at home and lived a gorgeous life. You were such a cuddler, I almost thought you were a human. Your communication skills in spite of not being able to talk, were stellar. You made it a point to wish me good night with a cuddle before going to bed every night and wished me good morning with a fierce wagging of your tail, even though you slept right by me all night. You loved begging dad for food and burping in his face, after every meal, which made him laugh hard. You attended dad's meetings with him and were the perfect, patient companion for any car related tasks! As hard as it is for us all to let go, the time has come. You are really loved and totally irreplaceable!
But then, I know you would say, "But mom, who would chase the geese away?"
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