Golden Retrievers are nothing if they are not enthusiastic. Freedom was more enthusiastic than most and lived in the moment with a concentration of self that we would do well to emulate. He lived for balls and would chase one until he exhausted himself or us. If no human could be found to throw the ball, he would play by himself, hiding the ball under couches and chairs and tables and then retrieving them.

If no ball was available he would chase the flash of the sun shining off a reflective surface on the wall. Moving things demanded his attention and he would focus on it to the exclusion of all else. A laser pointer or a flashlight spot would drive him frantic. We learned quickly to stop putting the rechargeable flashlight in a low wall socket as he would try to pull it out to play with it.

So about a week after he came into our lives we decided that “Ricochet” was a much better name. He lived up to the name and never lost his concentration – some called it fixation – for things that moved. He loved to fetch balls from the lake. If no one would throw him a ball, he would chase fish. He never caught one, but he tried mightily.

He was my walking buddy. We live on the edge of the extensive Lebanon Hills Park; Ric and I walked most of it. Ric ran about twice as far as I walked – as most dogs do – running forward and then returning to my side. I have wonderful memories of him at the top of hills looking back as if to say “C’mon, there’s more smells over the hill.” Another wonderful memory is of the kids tying a rope behind the snowmobile and skiing around the frozen lake. Ric would run just behind the skier, tail looping in big happy arcs, not exactly sure what was going on but happy to be a part of whatever it was his humans were doing.

In the end, his enthusiasm and focus were his downfall. In the fall of 2008, we decided to take an afternoon trip down to Frontenac Park and have a pleasant afternoon walk. We loaded Ricochet in the car and off we went. It was a great fall day, cool and breezy, the leaves a vibrant color. After being cooped up in the car for the hour and a half ride, Ricochet was ecstatic to be out in the open. There were no people around so we took him off the leash and he was running in circles trying to smell everything at once.

We don’t exactly what happened, whether the leaves covered the edge of the bluff or if he was just so excited he ran off the edge. All we know is that suddenly he wasn’t with us any more. We found him 40 feet down the cliff, crawling back up the trail dragging his dislocated hip and damaged spine.

After x-rays and surgery, we hoped he would recover some strength and maybe learn to use his remaining good rear leg and become a three legged dog. However the neurological damage to his spine kept getting worse and within a year he had lost the use of his back legs.

What he never lost was his enthusiasm and his big hearted love of play. He just played slower than he used to. Since he hadn’t given up, we couldn’t either. We learned to use duct tape on his rear paws to prevent rug and sand burn. He would spend hours in his lake, still chasing fish and retrieving rocks and sticks from the bottom. In the water, he was a whole dog again. This spring, we discovered ‘Eddie’s Wheels’ and we got him a wheel chair. While initially skeptical of the contraption, soon he was scooting around chasing balls and going on walks again. It was wonderful to see his big looping happy tail wag again.

In the end, he died doing what he loved – swimming in his pond. His enthusiasm never wavered. We will miss him.