Oliver Tristram 'Ollie' Marion passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 8, 2021 at the age of almost 13. Ollie came to be mine in December of 2010, just a few weeks before his second birthday. I had grown up with sheepdogs & said that as soon as I finished graduate school, I would get a sheepdog of my own. My family was already connected to TOESR through the adoption of our Ellie 2 years before & when Ollie became available, we knew it was a match made in heaven as they were both already named Ellie and Ollie by their previous families. As soon as we met, Ollie immediately knew I was his person, became my constant companion & best friend from that day forward. We always said Ollie was a very cosmopolitan dog because he had many homes. Although he always knew that when we were 'going home,' that meant my parents' house where his best friend Ellie was, he made several moves over the course of our eleven years together to various places throughout the Carolinas, his favorite of which was the beach where he was able to make frequent trips to run free on the sand. Ollie's life came full circle when we moved to Charlotte, where he originally lived with his first family. He spent the year 2020 going to work where he served as the 'emotional support animal' for the group of 5 colleagues who continued to go into the office during the COVID lockdown. The jury is still out as to whether Ollie or his people enjoyed it more. At work, Ollie learned that there was a meal called lunch that he had been missing out on his whole life & his new coworkers would sneak him his favorite tortilla chips when I wasn't looking. As life would have it, Ollie's friend Ellie passed away in October of 2020 just shy of her 13th birthday. Ollie followed suit on the same day in 2021. We like to imagine them running on the beach together. I am forever grateful to Ollie's first family, who made it possible for me to spend the last 11 years with him by my side, to Tarheel Old English Sheepdog Rescue, especially Belinda who matched us & Allie who transported him from his first family to me, the staff at Long Animal Hospital, Dr. Richard Killough & most especially the staff at Lowrys Animal Hospital & Dr. Katrin Phillips, who cared for Ollie for 11 years & made sure he left this world knowing he was loved. Whoever said diamonds were a girl's best friend didn't have a dog. Ollie was mine & I will miss him forever.