Farewell To An Old Friend

Today we said good-bye to our sweet dog Powder.  Bruce got Powder (and her brother Rusty) in the fall of 1999.  When Bruce and I started dating, I knew they were a package deal.  We lost Rusty in the spring of 2004, but Powder stayed with us for another 9 years.  The last few years have been hard on her (and us).  Her back knees both went out, she started experiencing anxieties, and in the last few weeks, became incontinent. 

We told the girls what was happening so that they could say their good-byes.
They hugged her and loved her and put some of her hair in little baggies to save.
 

Kate was particularly broken-hearted.
She wanted to come with us to the vet's office when Powder was put to sleep, and after some discussion, we decided that would be okay.  We were able to talk about death and our spirits, and that Powder would be happy to be able to run and play with Rusty again.  We talked about how her body would be a shell after she died and that sometimes the right thing to do was the hardest thing to do.

This is her this morning.
She loved to be outside no matter how cold it was.

 

Her passing was peaceful.  I sobbed as I signed the paperwork but I guess they are used to that sort of thing.  

We were with her telling her to run to Rusty as she passed.

I was at least kind of keeping it together until Kate slipped one of her little friendship bracelets onto Powder's paw.

It tore me up.

 

Now that we are home, I feel relieved.

She had suffered for so long and her passing was a good lesson for us about love and death and trust. 

I believe she's in heaven.