Caleb is at the Rainbow Bridge

Seven years ago this spring, our basset baby Caleb came to live with us. We adopted him from the basset rescue group here in Alabama. At three years old, he'd had a pretty hard life; he had been diagnosed and treated for heartworms while at the rescue group; before they picked him up, he'd been on his own for a while. He was afraid of brooms and sticks, he didn't like coming through doors, and he jumped at most loud sounds.
The wonderful folks at the rescue place got him over his heartworms, helped him put on some weight and 'fixed' him so he didn't want to roam. We brought him home and immediately fell in love with him.
He was always a very humble dog, loving everybody, whether it was boys and girls who came over, to the other dogs he met. He loved cats, dogs, squirrels and even the two rabbits my youngest daughter had for a while. They would climb all over him and he just loved every minute of it.
He also loved to ride, like most dogs. One of his favorite trips was to the school to pick up the kids with me. He'd hang his head out the window and 'arooooo' at anyone who would look at him, and wag that big ol' stick of a tail, and smile at everybody.
He even loved going to the vet's office. I guess he had seen such hard times on his own that he'd learned to appreciate everything.
Caleb taught me a lot of things:
*he helped me remember to always greet my loved ones with a happy face when they got home- Caleb always recognized the sound of each vehicle we owned and even could tell Randy's bike from any other bike in the county. As much as he hated loud noises, he loved to hear Randy's bike come roaring around the yard - he'd run towards him, every part of his body quivering because he knew his Daddy was home.
*he never discriminated against anyone- he loved EVERYBODY and expected them to love him, slobber and all; his best animal friend of all was Ricky Bobby, our cat; they loved snuggling on the sofa.
* he reminded me the quote from Seabiscuit - "You don't throw a whole life away just because it's banged up a little." Caleb had a pretty good bump on his nose where somebody hit him, he elbowed out on his front left side, and he had a lot of baggage to work through when he came to us, but his life was worth it.
Over the last few weeks, he'd gotten noticeably weaker, both physically and mentally. Several times he'd get in the bushes around the edges of our yard, and I'd have to talk to him to help him figure out how to get back out. He'd get a lost look on his face. He'd also started having trouble coming back up the steps into the house; several times I had to pick him and bring him inside. He'd also started breathing harder more of the time.
His favorite place to snooze was in the dining room, out of everybody's way, where it was quiet and he could sleep. Late this afternoon, he went into his little 'cave' and laid down. I knew things were getting close, so I'd go in the check on him often. Each time he'd lift his head and wag his tail a time or two. Our little shih tzu came and barked at me, and I think I knew - I went and checked and sure enough, he was gone. He'd left like he wanted, not bothering anybody. He just slipped away.
I already miss hearing the clicking of his toenails on the tile as he pranced in to see me. He always reminded me of Bustopher Jones from Cats... as chunky as he was, he was always so prissy too.
I may have other dogs in my life, but I'll never have another one as good as Caleb. He's gone to the Rainbow Bridge, and since he's always been a good dog, I guess he'll see me coming when it's my time, and run to greet me when I get there.