Sad news to share

[Gina Heitz <gina@briergoldens.com>]

Hi All -

I received a phone call last night that Summer (TRiX & Rolex) 10/26/02 
litter,  was hit by a car and died in Troy's arms last night.  Troy had 
just let Summer out into the fenced front yard to go potty and she 
apparently opened the gate that had a drop down latch like a lot of garden 
gates have.  Troy had a budgie cord fastened to the gate as a secondary 
precaution but apparently Summer figured out how to open this as well.  She 
had never left the yard before.

I am sick and saddened beyond words about this accident and feel that I 
need to share with you all that I know Troy has always been very careful 
with both of his Brier dogs, he also has a Sprite son who is 5.  Accidents 
can happen we all know this, and I don't hold Troy responsible, after all 
he did take measures that he felt were appropriate to keep Summer in.

That said in Summer's memory I want to remind you all to pay particular 
attention to your gates and to take a look around your own yard for 
potential other hazards.  With gates, the safest thing to do is to pad lock 
them and keep those locks locked.  If you must have a key close by hang it 
on a string near the gate but insist that everyone who uses this gate 
understands the lock must be locked when the gate is not in use.  Another 
alterative is a bucket type clip or even just a piece of wire bent into the 
shape of a safety pin inserted where most gate latches have a hole for 
placing a lock.

My own pain as Summers breeder I sure does not compare to Troy's, but I do 
know how I hurt today and how hard it is to type this to you all through my 
tears - please everyone check your gates and your yards for hazards, have a 
family meeting about dog safety.

Much Love to you All -

Gina
attached is a pix of Jester and Summer June 2005 hiking in Alaska where 
they live

Attachment: summer_jester_2005a.jpg
Description: JPEG image