Goodbye to a great pup and friend of the Coastline

“Penny” de Ford, the black golden retriever “Poster Child” for the

Coastline Pilot (July 5, 2002) painlessly died unexpectedly in the

early morning on Nov. 16 of a heart attack. She was only 7 years, 7

months old.

As a result of the letter to the Coastline about her “purloining”

of freshly printed, as well as old, wet, soggy and outdated

Coastlines, retrieved in the neighborhood north of Diamond Street

before the July 5th date, we now, indeed, have had wonderful, regular

delivery of this much prized newspaper in Wood’s Cove south of

Diamond Street.

Penny was adored by all who knew her for her gentle yet exuberant

demeanor, her soft black fur and her engaging way of doing her

advertising job by carrying the paper in her mouth during her

twice-daily walks. Passers by on foot and in cars loved to laugh and

admire Penny as she diligently did her daily “job” of advertising the

newspaper.

Penny and I were bonded in a way that supercedes any possible

human bonding, considering the fact that dogs are the only living

creatures I know who give love in a totally unconditional way.

Penny’s love was a supreme example of that special kind of heartfelt

giving of one’s spirit.

When I met my future husband, Bill, he fell in love with her too.

Penny even drove with us to Aspen, Colo., last year and “gave me

away” at our wedding ceremony in the John Denver Memorial Park on a

cold and snowy New Year’s Eve afternoon. It was a beautiful day in

all our lives. Penny now had a “daddy” to love, as well.

We all had a great life together, adding a new puppy to our family

in August. We found “The Babe” in the Irvine Animal Care Center when

she was only 9 weeks old and 8 pounds light. Bill and I are thankful

now, more than ever, that we adopted that lovely dog. Without Babe to

fill our hearts in our time of grief, Penny’s death would have hit us

even harder than it did.

One of Penny’s finest legacies to us all is the way she brought

new friends together as a result of our walks through the

neighborhood. One neighbor summed it up nicely in a card he designed

and sent recently. I quote his wonderful words:

“We thank you Penny for all the love and laughs and we especially

thank you for the good examples you leave for those who must find a

way to fill a very large hole in all of our hearts. If only there

were more Pennys -- more people would get to know each other. She did

her job -- and there are new friends for it.”

Bill and I can say no more, and certainly no better than those

honoring and loving words from our new friends, Mark and Bill and

“Jack” -- friends whom we’d never have known but for our beloved dog

called “Penny”

-- Annie Pratt