Something was different but I wasn’t sure what it was.

He was still his mischievous self.

He still waited patiently and eventually caught our houseguests forgetting to shut their bedroom door even after strong warnings.

Lincoln LOVED house guests…..they had luggage…..luggage had socks and Lincoln loved socks.

He also loved grandkids that spent the night…..they had socks too.

He’d slide into the guest room, rifle through their luggage and then hightail it out the dog-door with a pair of socks in his mouth.

He’d run straight to the patio door, look inside and wait.

He wanted us to see that he’d done it…..he’d gotten into the guest room and found their socks.

There he’d be…..staring in at us through the patio door with a pair of socks in his mouth.

And that adorable face saved him every time.

We couldn’t really hear him, but I knew he was laughing out loud.

And the grandkids?  

They were the best…..his most fun.

They usually saw him running from the room with their socks hanging out of his mouth.

We’d hear the yell we heard so much over the years….. “LINCOLNNNNNN” and the chase was on.  

With our grandkids, he’d run around the backyard, their socks flopping out of his mouth until one of them came inside for a treat…..immediate dropped socks…..game over.

Food had priority over EVERYTHING in Lincoln’s life.

He was also a gift stealer.  

He especially liked wrapped gifts that showed up at birthdays and holidays.  

He didn’t unwrap them, just wanted to run around with them in his mouth until someone noticed and yelled…..”LINCOLNNNNNN.”

But, something wasn’t right.

He wasn’t acting sick.

But something was different.

I decided to investigate.

I could find nothing wrong, no cuts, snake bites, or tenderness anywhere I touched so …..what was it?

I began thinking.

I couldn’t remember the last time he’d run away and Lobo didn’t have any fresh bites on his arms.

What was wrong with my Linkie?

And then it hit me.

He was 3 1/2 years old!

It had happened, just like we’d been told.

Three years!

The magic Terrier age.  

The age the vets and any other poor souls with Terriers had told us that the craziness would calm……a bit.

Now, I’m not saying that he never ran again, bit again, or got into some big-time trouble but it wasn’t quite so often.

Life was an adventure to Lincoln, he feared nothing and was curious about everything.

He stayed funny and kept us laughing for over thirteen years.

We decided that was his job…..to make us laugh and he did.

Like many furry kids, Lincoln had an understanding of our English language.

  

We could say short sentences to him and by his behavior, we knew he  understood.

I know anyone reading this who has furries of their own, knows what I’m saying is true.

They DO learn our words.

Lincoln and LooLoo had a wicker basket full of toys and each toy had a name.

I know other furries can do this too.  

I’ve seen it.

If we told Lincoln to go get his FLEA baby, he’d put his head down in that basket, toss things around til he found his FLEA baby, run it over to us with that little nubby tail of his wagging as fast as he could make it go.  

He was always so proud to bring us the toy we asked for.

I’ve often heard that animals are color blind.

Really?

Well Lincoln had a couple heavy-duty plastic toys that he couldn’t destroy, no matter how hard he tried and believe me he tried.  

He growled, he chewed, he tossed them high in the air but he couldn’t destroy them and…..he loved them.  

One was red, it’s name was “red stick.”

The other was bright green and it’s name?

Yep, “green stick.”

If we told Linkie to go bring us the green stick, that’s the stick he brought us.  

If he was color-blind there was two exceptions…..red and green.

He also knew the name of every family member AND their fur babies.

He loved our extended family.

He had different feelings for each one.

Julie made him crazy.

When I told him Julie was coming, he’d begin running through the house like a racehorse.

He’d cry with excitement and could barely wait.

He’d jump into her arms when she walked in the door and give dog kisses all over her face.

Julie was the only one who allowed fur-kid kisses on her face and Lincoln loved to kiss Julie.

She’d also lie on the floor and play with him.

Lincoln loved Julie.

When we’d tell him we were going to Missy’s house, he’d run to the door.

When we arrived at her house, he was the first one in and ran through her house looking for her, up and down her stairs and in and out of every room.

Often over the years, he had sleep-overs there while we were somewhere he couldn’t be.

He was most comfortable in Missy’s house AND, she had lots of treats and was most generous with them.

Lincoln loved Missy.

Kris is our animal person and has a deep connection and understanding of our furry kids.

She has a ranch that continues to grow with animals.

She loves all animals and Lincoln always felt that.

Lincoln loved Kris.

Our four grandchildren have known Lincoln most of their lives.

When he saw them, he ran for joy knowing the attention they were going to give him and the games they’d play with him.  

Lincoln loved our Kyle, Sierra, Wyatt and especially Bobby.

Bobby was just a year older than Lincoln.  

They were pals, they grew up together.  

The three-year-Terrier-rule really did make a difference.

Every now and then we’d even use the word sweet!

Crazy Lincoln being sweet?

It’s true.

As time went on and years passed, we began to notice subtle changes in our silly boy.  

I could see cataracts on his eyes and he wasn’t hearing so well anymore.

A time came when all he could hear was a very sharp, shrill whistle I learned how to do and it was a signal between just Linkie and me.

He couldn’t really hear our voices anymore but he did hear that whistle and he’d follow the sound until found me.

THAT was, to me…..sweet.

And, he grumbled…..so much that his new nickname was Mr Grumbles.

If he saw a car drive by or kids outside playing…..he grumbled.

If LooLoo barked and he heard it, he grumbled.

If something woke him up from his sleep, he grumbled.

Long, vocal grumbles that oftentimes sounded like words, like he was actually complaining about something.

Even crabby, he was funny.

And he was tired.

He slept more.

We didn’t like where all these changes were taking us but it’s part of the deal.

The part we never gave a thought to the day he was placed in my arms the very first time and I fell so deep in love with that little ball of tri-colored fur.

A few years ago we went to a wedding in Utah.  

We planned a three week trip around it.

On day four, Lincoln miscalculated his jump off of the hotel bed and slammed into the dresser.  

He lied on the floor and the saddest most pitiful little cry came from him.

My heart stopped.

Linkie never cried.

He couldn’t stand up.

We found an after-hours emergency vet hospital, scooped him up in our arms and headed for help. (More Linkie $$$$$, cha-ching, cha-ching!) 

The news was not good.

He had a torn ACL.

The vet assured us that we could finish our trip.

The pain pills would keep him fairly comfortable and he’d learn to maneuver with 3 legs.

There was a surgical procedure that could be done but not until the swelling and inflammation was reduced.

And so, we finished our vacation.

We lifted Linkie in and out of the car.

He mastered 3-leg hopping and went about his business.  

Remember, Linkie was our “whatever” guy.

Whatever was thrown at him, he dealt with.

Part of our trip was a ride through the ancient Redwood forest, “Avenue of the Giants” in Northern California.

To pee on a Redwood Tree was on Linkie’s bucket-list.  

We walked the path while he sniffed then found the right tree…a beautiful towering 300 footer with a massive diameter.  

He steadied his three working legs and took aim.

Mission accomplished and with one of his goofy smiles, he hopped back to the car, ready to move on.

It was “whatever” for Linkie but it broke my heart to see him like that and it was the beginning of many Linkie tears to fall from my eyes.

When we returned home, he was examined by our vet and then referred to a surgeon……a surgeon charging $5,000.00 to fix him!

We decided to shop around.

We did our research, learned who to consider and who to stay away from.

Finally felt comfortable with a vet who charged $3,500.00 and had some great testimonials from previous patients.

Linkie had the surgery and wore that miserable collar of shame.

He was kept fairly sedated until he was safe into healing.

We carried him everywhere.  

The only time we put him down was outside at a tree.

The rest of the time…..he was carried, AND…..he liked it!

We hadn’t been able to do our daily ocean walks since his surgery and we missed them.

The solution?

A stroller!

It worked.

He loved the ride.

It worked SO well that when the entire ACL repair episode was over, Lincoln no longer wanted to walk!

Infact, he REFUSED to walk.

Anyone who has ever tried to take a furry for a walk when they don’t want to, knows about THE SKIDS they can put on.  

Lincoln was a bull and when he made up his mind, there was no changing it.

We could pull, drag, command…..nope.

The solution?

The stroller.

So for the rest of our walks, along the coast, on trips, and here in the Sacramento Valley,  Lincoln rode in the stroller.

It’s not that he’s the only furry ever to ride in a stroller, we see them daily.

The difference is Lincoln sat in a stroller like a kid…..sitting smack on his bottom, legs through each leg-hole and hands holding on to the front bar.

THAT’S what drew attention.

THAT’S what made people stop and ask to take his picture.

And that’s why we decided, what the heck…..

We found a “wife-beater” shirt that spelled out CALIFORNIA, a pair of sunglasses, a sun-visor and a small surf-board and THAT’S when Linocln became a ROCK STAR!

The daily walk along the beach was loaded with tourists and Lincoln began to draw a crowd.

We counted an average of 15 stops EVERY day of people asking to take his picture…..sometimes even videos!

There were a few times a circle of people gathered around with Lincoln in the middle.

He never flinched.

He almost didn’t look real.

He sat still and posed as camera after camera clicked.

People even posed with him and had their children pose with him.

THIS IS TRUE!

We had people tell us that they were sending his picture to Jimmy Kimmel or another TV night-show host.

We had people tell us that they’d sent his photo all the way to Japan to their families there.

Lots of people (tourists) commented…..”only in California.”

And we answered the same questions every day, the most often asked was HOW DID WE GET HIM TO SIT LIKE THAT?

WE DIDN’T, HE WAS JUST GOOFY!

His daily walks brought smiles and laughter to SO MANY people…..always doin’ his job, just bein’ Linkie, the clown.

One day an older woman walked up and asked if she could pet him

and asked his name.

“Lincoln” we answered and then she got down on his level, took his paw in her hand, and while shaking it said…..”it’s nice to meet you MR LINCOLN.”

And that moment, our Lincoln became MR LINCOLN.