Photos and text copyright Romping and Rolling in the Rockies 2009-2017.

All photographs and text within this blog are copyrighted.

You may not copy or repost any photos or text without specific permission from the author of this blog. When in doubt, please ask.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

A Dog and a Bobcat

This morning, the freezing air felt like winter but the light told me that it's springtime.
It's the season of early sunrises, and Shyla's deep chocolate color resonating with the pine tree canopy above her.
We enjoyed south-facing trails that are almost clear of snow, with Shyla running along side my summer bike! Then, we traipsed through deep snow on a shady north-facing slope to check on a trail camera where there was lots of bobcat activity last month.

A couple of months ago, I showed you some photos of a bobcat enjoying an elk femur that a local dog had dropped in front of my camera.

I didn't show you a photo of the dog because my rule (for myself) is that I never publish photos of people or their dogs on the rare occasion that I capture them. However, I forwarded the photo of that dog, who I'll call "B", to his owner, and I recounted the bobcat's antics.

B's owner, a friendly neighbor of mine, replied that I was welcome to publish the photo of B, and that he would cherish the photo. It turned out that B, unknown to me, was suffering from cancer, and he'd placed the bone in front of the trail camera on his last outing in the forest. Rest in peace, B, and know that I appreciated you as one of the true mountain dogs, with an easy-going personality and an absolute love of our forest.

His owner said that B had brought the elk femur to the spot in front of my camera over the course of several snowy outings. During each outing, B had systematically carried the heavy bone about a half mile or so toward my trail camera. On his last day in the forest, B dropped the big bone in front of my camera, like a gift.
At least one bobcat has loved this gift. Here was a bobcat who was interested in the bone, just after B left it there. The bobcat was rolling directly on top of the femur, looking ecstatic.
And, then, more recently, a bobcat spent a long time with the elk bone in front of my trail camera. After checking it out, he proceeded to spend several minutes in front of the trail camera grooming. It's the longest series of photos of a bobcat that I've ever captured. I made the series of rapidfire still photos into a video, which you can watch here or at Youtube.
Thank you, B. Your spirit has changed this place, with your dogged determination to place that femur, like an offering, in the spot where it still lies. We all miss you, and I hope that you are running free, without pain.

Our bobcat thanks you most of all.

25 comments:

  1. what a sweet tribute to B. bless his owner that undoubtedly misses him!

    the bobcat is really beautiful! amazing how you can see so much 'housecat' in him!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a special gift B left for your trail camera to capture! We are lucky his owner was willing to share B's last visit to the area. Handsome dog - another good one lost to the evil of cancer.

    It is spring here too, but it was rather chilly at my grandson's soccer game tonight. A brisk wind coming in from the west:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow, what a beautiful cat! what a treat!
    godspeed sweet B!
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  4. A beautiful gift indeed.
    Blessings,
    Goose

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a cool video! Such a treat to see a gorgeous bobcat in it's normal habitat being a cat. And a nice tribute to a dear mountain dog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a wonderful story! And what a great memory of B. I know the owner will indeed cherish that photograph.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a beautiful dog B is. And, what a beautiful tribute this post is to his life.

    That bobcat is simply magnificent!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, what a beautiful story!!!
    Thank 'B''s owner for letting you share that with us...a true gift.
    I think maybe the bobcat was thanking 'B' too.
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

    ReplyDelete
  9. A tribute with loving and thoughtful words. B, you are a beautiful boy, and thanks to your family and KB,we share this one time in your life, and grieve too, your spirit will run free forever in those snowy mountains.The bobcat, like a domestic house cat when he cleans, just so much more fur.KB, thanks so much for sharing today with us all. Hugs, Jean.

    ReplyDelete
  10. B is a beautiful dog, and that he is a true mountain dog makes him more impressive. We are sorry he has moved on to another world, but all will be well for him there. Condolences to his family.

    The Bobcat is really stunning, isn't he? When he looks directly at the camera, he shows just who he is!

    Cheers,
    Jo and Stella

    ReplyDelete
  11. We think he's talking to you.

    What a wonderful story about the dog. We're sure his peep enjoyed hearing about the bone.

    XXXOOO Bella & Roxy

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a beautiful tribute to most handsome B. The video was fabulous!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

    ReplyDelete
  13. That is an incredible video. I would think that the pros would be quite envious.
    KB the way you show the relationships going on between all animals in the forest, be they domestic, wild, or human, is why I am a fan of your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I know how B's owner feels - I was recently given some photos of Sam from an outing I had taken with a fellow blogger. They were welcome and cherished gifts.

    Monty and Harlow

    ReplyDelete
  15. Run free sweet B. The world loves your spirit and heart.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Such a wonderful series of Bobcat shots...and a wonderful tribute!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sweet, sweet tribute to your furend B!

    We always hate to read about another pupper going to the Bridge from cancer. We pray every day for a cure.

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

    ReplyDelete
  18. Our best to B and his family. It's so wonderful you were able to capture those shots. The bobcat film is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  19. such a wonderful story
    thank you for sharing it and your awesome images

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is a very beautiful tribute to B- for sure!
    love
    tweedles

    ReplyDelete
  21. You can see that B is skinny and suffer from his cancer. Great Video. How awsome to get them at the camera like this.

    ReplyDelete
  22. So glad you contacted the dog'd owner...what a lovely gift to share, for both of you!

    ReplyDelete
  23. What an amazing set of photos! But what a heart-breaking story. How wonderful that you were able to capture some magic toward the end of B's life for B's owner to cherish always.

    ReplyDelete

If you are a Blogger registered user, you can skip the step asking you to verify that you are not a spammer. For posts older than 5 days, I have comment moderation turned on.

Thanks for your comments!!!!!