08/18/2026
Yesterday we said goodbye to Caleb. I am so thankful to have gotten to spend his final weekend spoiling him with love and attention, snacks, (slow) walks and laying around together. He couldn’t stand up without my help for the last few weeks, and his stomach hasn’t been the best for a bit of time now, but his carefree and happy spirit never left him through any of those hardships.
When Mason died, the grief that I felt was something I didn’t know I would be able to overcome. A couple of months later, Caleb entered my life and I truly believe that Mason led me to him to help me through some of the hardest chapters of my life.
Caleb lived a life of adventure since we came together, and I am so incredibly thankful for his sweet, beautiful soul. When I first got him, he was very timid, reactive and didn’t know how to play with other dogs. For his first 6-ish years before I had him, he was a sole dog living in East LA relegated to the sofa of an apartment. When we came together, he began to open up and he made incredible friends along the way. He blossomed and came to enjoy his new friends Bella, Guido, Melvin, R***r, Koda, Opie, Vaughn, & Huxley (just to name a few, but many others and no slight if I forgot to mention any of them).
He graciously welcomed Mary into our lives and didn’t show anything but love, patience and grace to her – even in spite of her having the tendency to suck all the oxygen out of every room she’s in – he shared me with her even though I know that I was his world. I remember Laura calling me when I was in Panama telling me Caleb told her “I don’t think we’re going to make it!” and how if I ever left him at my mom and dad’s house for a few hours my mom told me he would sit and wait for me at their door.
He also got the benefit of having Mike come into our lives in 2020. The “soul dog” feeling I had with Mason is something I recognized between Caleb and Mike. Caleb is so lucky to have had someone in his life who doted on his every need, gave him dog spas, served as his personal paparazzo and continued to be his biggest fan even after we split up.
He took hikes, miles of walks everyday rain or shine. He lived in Beverly Grove, Austin, North Phoenix, Canoga Park, Indio and frequently traveled to Lake Havasu City, Phoenix and Hailey. Shortly after I got him my friend Jill was training with a pet psychic and she did a reading with him. Something that stuck with me then was that he told her we’d go somewhere green together.
I feel so lucky to have been able to escape the desert heat with him and Mary this summer and to have had this last adventure together through Idaho, Bend, along the Oregon coast, Port Orchard, Seattle and this final weekend in Bend. I feel so grateful that timing worked out for Mike to be in Oregon while it became evident to me that Caleb was ready to go. I hope you enjoy some of these shots from the beautiful weekend we shared together under the tall pines and aspen trees in our camp site. It was such a lovely setting for his final sendoff surrounded by his favorite people.
If you have any memories of Caleb that you’d like to share in the comments, I would truly appreciate you sharing them here. That has been the biggest comfort to me on the post I made for Mason after his passing – and I love being able to revisit those memories. I’d love to be able to come back later and enjoy a wonderful memory of Caleb from you here.
