In memory/celebration of a member of the TillaMurphs

[TillaMurphs]

It has taken me too long to write this. For a while it was too painful to think about, then work got very busy. It still tugs at the heartstrings to recall some of the memories associated with these photos.

 

Our username is derived from one of our favorite locations and the favorite of our three members. The Tillamook State Forest is one of our favorite places to explore and our favorite member is (was) our four-legged friend Murphy.

 

Murphy left us last summer just shy of his 12th birthday after bone cancer invaded his body. He soldiered on for the last month and a half with a broken leg that was irreparable. He gamely limped his way through his last few benchmarking trips with no complaints. We finally had to have him put to sleep.

 

Murphy was a big, smart, handsome, friendly, fuzzy dog who went everywhere with us – he (and we) enjoyed every minute of it. His three favorite activities were: going for a walk, going for a ride in the truck, and chasing squirrels. Benchmarking involved two of those things and that was why he was such an avid benchmarker. I could go on about him for hours but I will just summarize it by saying that he was my “Best Buddy” and I truly miss him.

 

In memory, here are more photos than necessary:

 

Where it all started:

 

Who needs a metal detector? Here he is sniffing out RD1633 HOFFMAN:

 

At the GC10ZVA Kilchis Geocache in the Tillamook State Forest:

 

And also in the Tillamook forest, at station AJ1980 DVORAK:

 

Here he is after slicing two of his paws on broken glass at RD1072 (note the blood stains on his blanket). He never complained. We only found out after noticing blood all over the back seat. He probably should have had stitches on one of the paws but he ended up hiking a couple hundred almost vertical feet to RD1844 MT GAULDY 5 days later (he insisted on participating). He recovered completely.

 

He’s looking at the mess we would have to dig through to eventually find RD0668 WALCOTT (after multiple trips). In typical Murphy fashion, one of his ears is turned inside out:

 

Where he failed to find RD1931 DIKE at the beach:

 

Sniffing out the 1908 reference mark bolt at QE2584 FAIRVIEW:

 

Murphy was a total failure as a photographer’s assistant (at RD1079):

 

Being happy about the RD1815 GINGER 2 station mark find:

 

Continued in next post…

[TillaMurphs]

Memory / Celebration photos - continued:

 

And supervising the search for the reference marks at GINGER 2 (he was good at supervising):

 

Jumping for joy after finally finding RD1646 WILSON (under orange marker):

 

At RD1843 HEBO RESET – why is his tongue always hanging out? WE do most of the work – he usually just supervises:

 

Smiling about finding OA0935 POLLYWOG RESET (under the orange marker):

 

Savoring the scenery on the walk up to RD1837 MT HEBO LOH:

 

…and near the summit of MT HEBO LOH. He was always a sloucher – he could never sit up straight – he always had one hind leg stuck out to the side:

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Happy trails Murphy.

[+NorthWes]

Well done in remembering your friend - you'll always anticipate Murphy leaping up to go, or racing back to you from a squirrel chase down some trail on the Tillamook. It's obvious Murphy lived the best possible life a dog could have - as a treasured and close companion who shared the best of each day. He journeys on with you in your heart, and on your avatar... truly well done.

[+steben6]

Really sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing those great pics!

[+DukeOfURL01]

Those pictures are just incredible. (in a good way)

[monkeykat]

thank you for sharing such a wonderful story and those beautiful pictures. What a wonderful team member to share your adventures with.

[AZcachemeister]

You always know your time with them is limited, but it is always surprising how short it seems when they go.

 

Happy Trails Murph.

[Photobuff]

So sorry- he looks like such a sweetie pie. We get so very attached to them. It's been almost two years since we lost our dear Dewey and I still think of him multiple times a day. Perhaps Rainbow Bridge has a benchmark where we'll all meet again someday.

[+shorbird]

Sorry to hear about Murphy. It sounds as if he was a great asset to your team! Thanks for sharing your pictures. We recently lost our GeoDog Kali. She was always ready for a benchmarking trip, and we sorely miss her.

[TillaMurphs]

We recently lost our GeoDog Kali. She was always ready for a benchmarking trip, and we sorely miss her.

Is that Kali in your avatar?

[+shorbird]

Yes, that's Kali all right. She would always stay by me and patiently wait while I looked for a benchmark.