Post from: Cheryl Silver

I met Gary and Barbara last year when...

I met Gary and Barbara last year when they attended the Airedale Versatility Day in Hutto.....they wanted to adopt a rescue airedale. When I learned that Rafferty needed a new home, I felt pretty darned certain that he was the dog for them and they were the family for him. And all fell into place; Rafferty joined their loving home. I felt an immediate connection to both Barbara and Gary and made myself a guest in their home fairly often; and, of course, I got to visit Rafferty.

Barbara and I would talk about Raff and decorating and coloring our hair ----you name it. Just recently we learned that a friend of mine for over 30 years--another writer--is someone who had reviewed her work for an Edgar and he had contacted her privately, after the awards, to tell her how much he liked her work. We had a good laugh about how we could pull some sort of surprise on this friend so that he would realize that we all knew each other.

Barbara always tickled me with her stories about caring for Raff after his surgery. She would do an imitation of him being growly and tell me that she would growl right back at him and then proceed to do what was needed. She also did a great imitation of him soaking in his bath.
Friday before her passing, I was at the house and shared a tip with her on how to train Raff to give "kisses." I was terribly congested and she nursed me with tissues, hot water to sip (my choice of beverage).

The next morning she called saying she had tried the trick and while it hadn't worked yet, she was going to keep working on it----of course, Barbara would keep working on it!! She was excited about going to San Antonio to meet the airedale at the foster home.

While I didn't know her terribly long, it didn't take long to recognize the power of her personality and her spirit.....it lit up the room.....as did the love in evidence shared by Gary and Barbara.......

I was very fortunate to know her.....Cheryl Silver, Austin, TX