In late October 2011 a family - mother, father, daughter and son - huddled disconsolately in back of the Sterling VA Petsmart. They had just lost out on a chance to adopt a dog as the result of a name-out-of-a-hat draw between them and another equally-deserving family. It had been just over a year since the loss of their previous dog, and they were looking forward to bringing another furry ward into their lives.
The full story is here but suffice it to say that Raven entered our lives at precisely that time. She also brought thousands of unexpected friends with her as well as kennel cough, but we all made it through that (except those friends of course) and Raven became a sweet, playful and frankly uncomplicated dog.
Raven lived up to her Whippet heritage by delighting in leading other dogs at the dog park on high-speed, high-maneuvering chases. The only dog that ever caught her was a purebred Whippet who saw Raven zooming across the dirt, seemed to think for a moment and then basically teleported into Raven's side, sending our dog flying. True to her nature, Raven didn't care.
When Scout entered our lives the two got along very well, and teamed up from time to time to hunt rabbits in the back yard. At the time two young girls lived next door so I often had to move fast to avoid having to explain away the "sleeping" bunny. Most of their time, though, was spent lounging on various furniture.
As she got older Raven became (in)famous for her interest, however polite, in other dogwalkers' potential treat supplies; it didn't necessarily help that several neighborhood friends and acquaintances proved to be a soft touch. Indeed, anyone we passed, whether with a dog, just walking by or even getting out of a parked car was a potential snack source.
In fall 2024 Raven began to suffer from extreme balance/vertigo issues as well as plain advancing old age. When we took her to the vet they said "Raven isn't an old dog..." That was unexpected but then they continued "She is a REALLY old dog and there is no science for her" since so few make it that far. At that time we knew Scout wasn't doing well so we steeled ourselves for a rough 2025 dog-wise. At that time of course we had no idea of the everything-else-wise aspects of the coming year.
However, Raven rallied and medication helped with the immediate issues, to the extent that we were able to stop medications later in 2025 with no ill effects. Frankly the drugs were having adverse effects in other ways so in some sense were exacerbating the problem, but again, no science to fall back on for that.
Time, as we learn over and over again, eventually runs out and the dreaded phrase "quality of life" becomes unavoidable and undeniable. So it came to pass with Raven and we said farewell on March 31.
We had so much time with her, but it is never enough.
Raven Slattery runs free across endless grass. She was and is a Good Dog.
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