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Frank Bank, friend for life and forever

judy

Well-known member
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This website is very special--from the memorials of dogs who are gone, to the puppy photo pages, and everything between, the wealth of information about so many subjects, the fun discussions and the serious ones--experiencing this site is one of the precious experiences brought into my life by cavalier dogs.

I would like to create a memorial to my last dog Frank, who died in 1979 at age 13 of pancreatic cancer. Until the cancer, she was as healthy as a dog can be and never aged in her appearance or her energy level or her strength or agility, except when she was pregnant a couple of times.

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i first met Frank in 1967, in the Summer of Love, in Haight Ashbury CA, when she was about 4 months old and i was 18. I was more or less transient at the time, between homes, doing things like hitch hiking up and down the California coast, hopping freight trains, hanging out and having adventures, and i was walking down Haight Street one day with no particular place to go, going in the direction of Golden Gate park on a beautiful warm breezy August day, and i saw someone sitting in a doorway, playing with a cute puppy. I stopped to see the puppy, "oh, she's so cute," "Do you want her," he said. "Sure!" So the puppy and i headed for the park. I laid down on the grass and she seemed to know immediately that i was her human for life. there was no leash. She just hung around me. She went off exploring, but always kept her eye on me, and came back to lick me and then go off exploring again. I'd never had a dog like that before, it was like Lassie on TV, she never needed a leash, she knew where she belonged. I'd ride my bike and she'd run along, busy streets included, she knew about cars and i never worried about her, she knew what she was doing. If i went to the market, she'd wait outside by my bike. If i was gone too long, she might come in looking for me, it happened a couple of times. She found me and the store employee started scolding me for having my dog in the store, but i just said i didn't know who that dog was, and i pretended i didn't know her and finished my shopping. when the coast was clear, i told her to go outside and wait, and she did.

Frank and I had many adventures, it would fill a book. At first, as often happens, i didn't know what to name her and she was just called "Puppy" and "Puppy Girl." One day i was walking with my friends and the puppy was running around exploring as we walked along, and we were joking around and laughing about ridiculous stuff, it was so easy to laugh in those days, and we were talking about old TV shows that we used to watch when we were little kids, and talking about the names of the actors who played the characters, and for some reason this really cracked us up, thinking about those peoples' names, and someone remembered that the character of Lumpy on Leave it To Beaver was played by a guy named Frank Bank. We thought that was a hysterical name. And then someone said that would be a good name for the puppy. And so, that's how she came to be called Frank Bank, and just Frank for short.

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Frank was very smart, she knew lots of human talk. She was very communicative. She was loyal faithful and true always, and protected our space, she was brave. She was easy going and adaptable, and at the same time, she was intense and high energy. I don't know what breeds went into her mixture, i wish i did. She had some kind of herding dog in her because you could see her run and turn corners leaning almost level with the ground, imagining that she was herding sheep and getting them organized. Some people said she was part sheltie and part terrier. I wish i knew. she was a beautiful and cute dog.

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Frank had two litters before i got her spayed. We don't know who the fathers were. Her first litter had nine puppies, there were 4 white ones, 4 black ones and one tri colored one. On Christmas eve they were old enough to go to new homes. We put them all in a shopping cart and stood outside the Fedco store (a big discount department store) and as people came out on their way to the parking lot, they took a puppy home with them, and all the puppies were gone in a short time.

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Frank had a lot of heart, a great sense of humor, intelligence, charm, loyalty, and everything anyone could ever want in a friend. when she died, she left a huge empty place, and although i was always a dog lover and a "dog person," always wanting to 'have' a dog since i was a little kid, after Frank died, I didnt' have any urge to get another dog--until i met my daughter's cavalier Belle, last October. Then, all my dog love came rushing back and i was surprised at my feelings. I longed for a dog. Now i have a sweet lovable boy dog, zack, and I am grateful for what he has brought into my life. Frank would love him and he would love her. Sometimes i dream about Frank--my friend says that means i am visiting her "on the other side" when that happens.

thank you to Frank for everything and more than i can say. i will be happy to see you again some day and touch your fur. Until then, i will always remember. I have been forever blessed.

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:cry: You made me cry. but a lovely story. I hope that in some way Zack will fill the void. I am sure you will meet Frank one day.
God Bless!!
Gillian
 
Judy, thank you so much for sharing your story of Frank Bank. What a lovely tribute to your friend. I do believe that these special creatures called dogs come into our lives when we need them the most. Hopefully, you will find the same kind of love with Zack.

JaneB
 
What a wonderful story - thank you so much for sharing Judy, that made me laugh and cry.

Frank was an amazing dog, and obviously a huge part of your life. I'm glad that you still dream about her and hold her close to you.

I'm sure she's sent Zack to you, when we lose one of our beloved companions, they can never be replaced but another can help ease the pain and fill the hole they left. Although it's been some years, I'm sure Zack will remind you of Frank in some ways.

Thinking of you and cuddle Zack close. So pleased that you have a Cavalier and have joined our wonderful extended family
 
That was such a great story to read and she sure was one special dog. I'd bet there was sheltie in there, too, going by that face! I'm glad you have welcomed a new dog into your life now too.
 
What a great story! It's amazing how these animals can have such an impact on us. I'm closer to mine than I am with most people! :lol:
 
What a very sweet story and a very special lady dog. She was beautiful. Very similar to my neighbours dog who is half collie and half alsation. Anyway you had me in tears reading it and i just picked up my little cavalier and gave him the biggest hug. Now you have Zacks whole life ahead of him and many special moments to share with him like the ones you shared with Frank. They truly are just part of the family. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
 
What a wonderful, heart felt memoir. Thank you for sharing this with us. Amazing how little we forget about those that have touched our lives no matter how long they may have left us physically. The emotional impact stays with us forever.......
 
thank you guys for your warm words and for sharing my memories of Frank with me, it feels so good to create this memorial, and to have it be heard and understood by people who understand the love of dogs.

i never really grieved for frank, she died in the middle of a time of chaos and upheaval in my life, including having to find a new home, and a lot of other sudden changes. when she got really sick, i took her to my parents' house because of problems going on between me and my room mate, and because Frank wasn't safe at my place when i wasn't home, i didn't know yet what was wrong with her, only that she was sick and it wasn't getting better, so my parents took her in, and they took her to a vet, i didn't have any money for a vet, i was a grad student living on financial aid, i didn't live near my parents, about 50 miles away, and after taking her to the vet, they called me and said the vet said she had cancer and couldn't be saved, and they were asking if it was OK with me to have her put down, because the vet recommended it. I said yes, there didn't seem to be any choice.

I was laying in my room later that day and i heard a big long sigh. I didn't know where it came from, but later i found out that Frank died at about that time, so i felt that we were together somehow when she had her last breath. For a long time, i would hear her as if she were still alive, like the noise she made when she was riding in my car hanging out the window, a kind of rustling of her fur. Finally i stopped hearing her. Dreams of her are rare treasures.

Zack is very precious. I always had girl dogs before. He's got such a sweetness. One thing that i've never seen a dog do before that he does, and that from a thread on these forums i learned that some other cavaliers do this, is watching television. He'll hear something on the television and start watching. i think there is something intelligent about that. Last night he watched a whole commercial for Sears, it was about tools. :lol: He seems to enjoy music and rhythm. And if he hears someone crying on TV he stops to watch. And sometimes he just watches visual effects, swirling colors and shapes on commercials. He is so curious and sensitive.

i am seriously thinking of getting another one because of how sociable these guys are, and i think it's not right for Zack to be alone so much, because of my job. I think it would make him really happy to have a brother or sister.
 
What a treasure she was.

I think you are right in thinking she had Sheltie in her, I have two and yes they do understand human talk!

How lovely that you could write this about her, you had a very special little friend in her, treasure your memories, they are yours forever.

Take care,

Alison, Wilts, UK.
 
I want to add something to my memorial for frank, something that popped into my mind as i was driving around the other day, something precious about frank that i had forgotten and hadn't thought about in all these years.

It's that she used to do something that we called "giving a neck." If you were laying in bed or on the floor or on a couch, she'd come up and lay down, placing her neck right across your neck, with deliberate pressure--she would press her neck down snugly on your neck and just stay like that. It was a sign of affection, and it was really special. We'd say "Oh, she's giving you a neck." There was no predicting when she might do it, it's not like she did it all the time. I dont' know if other dogs do this, i'd never experienced it before, or since. What i wouldn't give to have frank give me a neck right now....... :l*v:

luckily i have a warm little body laying up against my leg as i sit here, a little head laying heavily on my upper leg, little zack, i am so blessed to have him, to know him is to feel love and appreciation for him, his sweetness, i feel happiness every day, many times a day, just to encounter him, the way he watches TV with such interest, the way he always follows me to the bathroom when i have to go, what a companion, the way he does everything that he does, he has such an innocence about him. he has really brightened my life and added so much sweetness, laughter and warmth. :lotsaluv:
 
It's funny how thing trigger a memory.

I wanted to let you know that my Blue Merle Sheltie does this, sometimes I wake and she is just "there" doing this, the older Tri girl doesn't. No other dog that I have owned has ever done it either, strange! I will ask around a few animal behaviourists that I know and see if it means anything, will let you know! :flwr:

Alison, Wilts, UK.
 
Alison, that is so interesting. I wonder what it's called. It's lovely, isn't it?
let me know if you find out anything.
 
That "neck" hug! My Fauna (b&t) does that to me every morning. That's the way she wakes me. It is so very sweet! I know exactly what you are talking about. Aren't we lucky to have had one of those special "hugs"? I think it must be a "personality" trait rather than breed specific. Fauna is a pretty dominate little girl but yet, she is very sweet. I think it's her way of reclaiming me every morning. It works, too! I am hers. :)

JaneB
 
Jane, i can just picture her doing it. I am happy to hear that others have experienced this wonderful thing. It's nice to know others know what i'm talking about, and it also means i might have another dog who does it some day, which would be neat, or at least i might meet another dog who does it.
Enjoy your neck hug tomorrow morning! :)
 
Judy, I thought of you and Frank this morning when I woke. Fauna was in a very "huggy" mood and wouldn't budge from her hug position. I told her that we were going to send a couple your way. Consider yourself the recipient of "the neck." :hug: :hug: :hug:

JaneB
 
thank you jane and fauna! jane you are so blessed. thank you for sharing the warm feeling with me. i can just picture her doing it.
necks to you both xoxo :flwr:
 
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