Today is my 43rd birthday and I am being uplifted by all the messages on Twitter and Facebook, but today is a sad day for the Norks. Our dog Cloe has been battling kidney failure for several months.  We have been watching her waste away before our eyes and the time has come to put her to rest.

In November of 2007, we lost our German Shepherd suddenly. Cloe came to us through a Google Search on the key word “German Shepherd Rescue”. My wife Ali searched on the internet and her picture came up in the search results. Cloe had such a happy look on her face. Ali said “That’s the dog for us!”

So on Saturday December 15, 2007 the family made the trip down to Brooklyn NY. This was the first time we had ever been there.
We got to see the Brooklyn Bridge and even a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty!

Cloe was taken out of the kill shelter by the Brooklyn Animal Foster Network on her last day before being euthanized. They set up in the parking lot of a store in Brooklyn trying to find adoptive homes for the animals.

A student at Brooklyn College saw Cloe in the morning on his way to class and stopped to play with her. On his way home he saw that she was still there. He knew what that meant. If no one adopted her, she would be taken back to the shelter to be euthanized.

So he decided to sneak her into his apartment even though his landlord didn’t allow dogs. Shortly after Ali saw Cloe’s picture and the rest is history.

Cloe quickly became a member of the family posing in our 2007 Christmas card, playing in the snow and taking hikes in the woods with the boys. She was a great watch dog that looked mean enough but everyone knew she wouldn’t hurt a fly. It took her many years but eventually she made friends with the cats and in her final years she seemed happy to see them!  Cloe loved her boys and took turns sleeping in each of their bedrooms at night.

Cloe will be sorely missed but we were so happy to have her as part of our family for the past 4+ years. Cloe rest in peace my friend.