Monday, May 23, 2005

Missing my brown eyed girl

We got a puppy almost eight years ago. My husband said he'd never get a dog but I started to notice him doing research on the web, closing the window quickly when I'd enter the room. He took online quiz after online quiz and all roads led to a Westie. Generally more of an "adopt from the pound" dog person, I wasn't going to argue. We found a breeder and came home with the sweetest dog in the world.

I insisted on a female because I was sure when we had kids they'd all be boys and I'd be surrounded by testosterone -- she was going to be the one to bring balance to our home. Last week we had to put her to sleep. She was never sick a day in her life but about three weeks ago had a seizure and began a fairly steady decline. Test after test turned up nothing. We were referred to a neurologist at an animal hospital where she suffered another seizure and had to be sedated. They did a spinal tap to rule out a brain infection and next step was an MRI to see if she had a brain tumor. We never made it that far. She declined rapidly while sedated, laboring to breathe due to fluid in her lungs. We had her euthanized.

I'm missing my sweet brown eyed girl. She turned my husband into to a dog person and trained him to be an amazing papa. She brought us such joy and comfort during what has been a very difficult few years. And now here are, well on the road to a baby and now she's gone. Part of me wonders if her job was to get us to the finish line.

She would have made a hell of a big sister. Rest in peace little one.