Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Her Legacy Lives On

People who don't like dogs won't get this blog and frankly might think me ridiculous for even writing about an animal, but I guess I am an animal lover... especially dogs, and one girl in particular. That was my fair warning for all to either quit now or once done reading to not leave any "smart" comments.

A week ago tomorrow we finally had to put our ever faithful dog to sleep. She would have been just 10 years old in a couple months, but I guess disease does not take into consideration age or how much one is loved. The hardest part of the whole thing, the past several months or year even, is to see how one you love's health deteriorates so fast while they are mentally present. She wanted to go for walks and play with our new puppy, but unfortunately her body would not let her. I think in the end she was ready to leave and found peace from us because we too we ready for her to go and not have to suffer any more. You see the thing about Heidi was that she wanted to always be with her people and please them. People would always say she barked too much (especially when we were gone), but really that was because she wanted to be with us and not left alone. She was sweet, loving, caring and so much more. That is the thing with dogs... they sense when you are sad or lonely and will not leave your side. And when you are happy they too celebrate with you. Like I said you would not understand this unless you have dogs or are yourself a dog lover.

And now we have a new puppy named Leo. Heidi was able to meet him and I think she approved and wanted her people to be happy with him. She wanted to play with him, but as I said was just not strong enough. And now he has inherited not only her old toys and big bed, but it seems like there are parts of her in him. So in a way she is living on in Leo and we are able to be reminded of her and all the joy she brought. Thank you, Heidi, for being our girl for the brief time you were with us, but more importantly I thank God for allowing us to care for one of His own for these past 9 years and allowing her to be part of our family. And now I thank God for giving us little Leo to help heal our hearts from this loss. She is never forgotten... I love you Heidi.