Let me start by saying that I am not a "dog" person.
All that changed on the driveway of a friend in May 1993 when I met who would become my bestest friend ever. She was a "spur of the moment" purchase by my future husband during a time when we were newly ****** and not in the market for a house let alone a dog.
At first I did not live with her but when the relationship I had with her owner became one that we could no longer live apart, she became a part of my everyday life. We had a young baby when I moved in and she took to our "human" baby as if she had borne her herself...a maternal bond was formed.
A week after I moved in, I was home ill with laryingitis from work and she started to dig with her large paw (by this time she was a year old) at the chair that our 11 week old daughter was sitting in. She had never done such at thing, so I scolded her and told her to "lay down and be a good girl!" She tried with all her might to lay down but she could not. She got up and ran through our living room into our kitchen area only to return and scratch at the chair again.....I scolded her a second time...at which point she (at about 140 lbs) ran through the living room and kitchen and threw her body against the back door. Well, I figured something was up, so I put got up and walked to the kitchen where there was smoke coming under the back door (which was connected to the hallway connecting the entries of the apartment upstairs to ours). I went into "Oh My God" mode and called 911 while bundling the baby and guiding the dog out the door (no time to look for a leash). The fire department came and put out the fire in the upstairs unit and told me how amazing my dog was to sit next to me the entire time 14-15 firemen went in and out of our home without a leash on and also noted that had the fire gone another 15 minutes, the house would have been a total lose because the fire would have traveled into the walls!!!!!!!!!!!
From that day forward, I had a "Mommy" connection with my best friend!
We added a human playmate to our family the following year and she again took on the "Mommy" role with him all the while being the most gentle, patient, obedient dog God could have blessed me with.
I entered college in the fall of 98 and eventually created a "computer/dog" room in my house where we would have our deepest chats. When the children were tucked in their beds and hubby was fast asleep, the dog and I would embark on completeing my many hours of assignments and typed papers. I come to depend on her to break the solidarity on the room and to keep my feet warm while I typed!
During my last semester of college, September 26, 2003, I had completed a day of student teaching, picked the kids up for school, and was on my way home when my hubby called. He said not to bring the kids home but to come home as soon as possible, she needed me. I called the sitter (always faithful as well) and dropped the kids off. When I arrived home, my dearest friend was very ill, she was listless and tired. She had a high fever. While my hubby tried to get her to drink water, I called the vet. We carried her to the car and took her to the local vet who said that she had a high fever and gave her a strong antibiotic shot and said that her fever should cease by morning.
During that vet visit, I told hubby that our dearest faithful friend was sicker than we and the vet imagined and that the outcome would be grim. Unfortunately, I was right.
Within 3 hours of the vet visit, our dear friend began to hemorrage and had to be euthanized because she had the advanced stages of pyometra. (Pyometra is an infection in the uterus that makes the blood toxic to the major organs). After 9 1/2 years my bestest friend was gone.
We were fortunate enough to have a place to bury her, in a beautiful field where we have planted flowers and placed a sitting stone but we have not been fortunate enough to feel less pain or to forget out beautiful, faithful, and loving friend! To this day, I have not been able to visit the beatiful site because I miss her too much...I have planned to plant new flowers this spring in celebration of her April birthday and of her love for running in open fields of wild flowers at the local park.
To all of you who have lost your bestest friend, time will make it easier but I will be brutally honest and tell you that life will never be the same. I had to change the computer/dog room, attempted to have another dog, but my heart still aches for the one who is with Jesus today.
For those of you who feel guilt, I am a strong believer that to everything there is a season, and to every living being there is a time when you are called to be with the Creator who will see to it that happiness and peace lasts for all eternity. Don't spend time blaming yourselves, it is hard not to but, spend time celebrating the life you shared with your best friend.
I will tell you to share your stories and pictures, share your memories, and hold your friend dear because when the truth be told, our dearest friends would not want us sad but happy remembering the happy times.
Her name is Athena, (NiNi for short) and she is still my bestest friend!