(gravel pits and the Gulf, but not our pool for some reason known only to her - maybe because she couldn't touch the bottom)… She liked hanging out with us at the pool. We would throw the ball around the lanai, and she would retrieve it and then insist on dropping it into the water but only through the middle of a blow-up donut float. 

She was truly Queen of the Ball. When she was younger, she could play ball for hours and would be so sad when we would make her come inside. We continued this ball playing in our front yard when we moved to FL. It was because of her that we met some of the friends we have today. 

In this past year, ball playing was usually just keeping the ball near her and occasionally carrying it in her mouth. Sometimes we played soccer, rolling it to her when she would lay at the edge of the driveway. That was her way of letting us know that she wanted to play.

 Once we moved to FL and had crosswalks, we noticed that she always walked on the white line when we crossed the street, whether she was on leash or not - she always Walked the Line. 

We found new ways to spend time with her as she aged and she even met a new boyfriend, Murphy, later in life. They had about 4 years together and enjoyed swapping drool, begging for treats, CrunchyO's, of course, taking short walks, playing with toys, stealing the toys from each other, showing off for neighbors, greeting walkers on the sidewalk… I'm sure I've forgotten a few of their favorites. It was a time that we all looked forward to every day. 

I tried to make her tribute video short, but I just couldn’t stuff 14 years into a short window. Marly was so precious to us, and I have thousands of pictures and videos, so I picked some of my favorites.

 We gave this amazing girl the best life we could and in return, she loved us unconditionally and showed it every day. I know with all my heart that she made me a better person. Our family feels very fortunate to have had someone so special in our lives that makes saying goodbye so very hard. I miss her so much. 

She has been the hardest goodbye. MyMarlyGirl 12/30/2008 – 3/21/2023. RIP Sweet Girl I was amazed by the power of DNA to connect people across time and space.