Mocha

Everyone thinks their dog is the best dog in the whole world and that’s as it should be.

The best dog in our whole world, our beloved Mocha, age 13 1/2, passed away last night. He was one big chocolate Labrador retriever that absolutely loved every other dog he ever met and thought every person was his long lost best friend that he never knew he had and he was sure they wanted to pet him. He was such a sweet dog. As we always said, he was just a big lover dog.

As many of you know, Mountain View Medford ‘Mocha’ was purchased at a Ducks Unlimited dinner auction in March, 2000, in New Jersey. With 10 year old Mark, white hair and all, standing on a chair, bidding against everyone in the banquet hall, it came down to Mark and another woman. Every time the poor woman bid, many in the hall booed. Some offered to give Mark the additional $10 difference in the bid. Many hollered, “Let the boy have the dog!” That was the beginning of our lives with this big, brown, ball of fur with the massive paws. He was only 5 weeks old at the time and we weren’t allowed to take him home with us that night, but Kathleen and Mark sure were excited to tell Lisa about the puppy we had bought when they got home. Lisa wasn’t quite as excited as they were.

We picked Mocha up on April 1, 2000, “April Fools Day” of all days and he immediately began working his magic on our hearts. We picked him up from the breeder and put him in a laundry basket with an artificial lamb’s wool blanket in the bottom of the basket. The poor dog must have fixated on the lamb’s wool because from that day on he could never be without his beloved “lambie”. Oh how he loved to suck on it and chew it and tear it and especially play tug of war with it! We went through quite a few lambies in those younger years. We always had to make sure he had enough lambies around. He always got a new one for Christmas and he was just as excited about that as the kids were opening their presents.

From the days of training at Pet Smart, being dragged down the neighborhood streets of Lakeside in New Jersey, throwing countless tennis balls in the backyard, endless hours of watching Mocha swim in Wilderness Lake, numerous walks through a variety of trails in the Pinelands, his final years in Blaine and at Big Pine Lake, and all our hunting adventures, our hearts and minds are full of memories of very special times with our sweet boy. Never was there a dog who loved to hunt as much as Mocha. When I would uncase the shotgun, 85 pounds of chocolate lab would begin to leap into the air and cry and whine with such excitement I thought he was going to burst! He did it all. He pointed, he flushed and he retrieved. I always said, “Mocha could be a Field Trial Grand Champion if he would have had a decent master.” A man could not have asked for a better hunting companion.

We were the world to Mocha and he to us. In good times and in not such good times, he was always there to greet us, tail wagging, body wiggling, to make us feel better about the days events. We are so lucky to have had Mocha in our lives for as long as we did. He will always be a precious, wonderful memory that will bring a smile to our faces and warmth to our hearts.

We can only hope that it’s true: There is a “Happy Hunting Grounds” and “All Dogs Go To Heaven.” Dogs are all such special, splendid creatures.

We will miss our Mocha so very, very much!