Our sweet Andy Pup passed away on Friday, October 5th, 2018. Of course he'd been getting older for quite awhile. Over the past six months he started losing weight and being a lot pickier about what he ate. And then the last two weeks before he passed he really started to slow down. I noticed he wasn't getting up to do the things he normally did, like greet us at the gate or see us off to school. Then the last three days leading up to his death, he stopped wanting to eat all together and he stopped moving around. His back legs got really swollen and he could barely take any steps. It was time for us to say goodbye to him.
I don't think I had any idea it would be so painful. It was heart wrenching to see him losing the ability to do the things that once brought him joy. And it was even more heart wrenching to have to decide that he needed to be let go. I came to the conclusion much quicker than Brice did, and I think it was a tender mercy that in a matter of two days he went from me worrying constantly about him and praying and trying to get Brice to realize that he was getting pretty sick, to him being so visually sick that Brice was able to see how much he was suffering. I knew the Lord was helping us to both come to the conclusion that our poor old pup needed some rest and peace.
We both cried together, and we cried with the kids.
Seeing our empty yard was difficult at first, but it's slowly getting easier. Now we can talk about our silly pup with a little smile, instead of tear filled eyes. We loved our Andy so much. He was just the best dog ever. I remember how much of a buddy he was to me when we were living in Utah and Brice was working away in Vernal, and then when he was building that house down in Mount Pleasant. I was alone with Jace so much, but I always had my pup with me. He helped me feel safe in a dark and scary house, and he kept me company during the lonely days.
Oh goodness, I've started to bawl again, so I will just leave these last pictures that we took with our pup. Even when he felt terrible, he still tolerated the kids showering him with love. Oh how we love him! (Annalise loves him too, though she was pretty interested in those sling shots, er I mean, those telescopes, haha)
This picture kind of breaks my heart. He looks so tired. But still so content to just be with us. Silly ole pup.
No comments:
Post a Comment