Yesterday, my old girl told me she’s done and it hurts. I’ve been a big mess since then. It’s been a slow decline over the past year. Her once unstoppable force is fading fast. At the end of January she hit 14 and while that’s good for a lab, you know the day is coming.
I’ve been sitting on the floor with her crying like a baby. Holding her and giving her comfort and trying to get in a few more moments. She’s weak and hurting, but still has that glimmer of life in her old cataract covered eyes . She can still see but doesn’t hear well, but still wants to be close and get a good rub.
Somehow I’ve got to get myself together enough to get on the tractor and dig another hole in the yard and I don’t want to do it. It never gets easy. It’s selfish, but I don’t want to let her go.
Last evening I took her to the beach with her favorite ball for one last glimpse of the water and some of that salt air she loves so much.
When she was a pup, she would swim until she couldn’t, so she wore a life jacket for when she went too long. The first time she saw a boat, she jumped about 6 feet so she wouldn’t be left at the dock. She loved to travel and traveled well. She’d lay down in the back and you wouldn’t hear a peep from her until you stopped. Sh would pop her head up occasionally to take in the sights and smells of wherever you were.
She’s always been a sweet, loyal, kindhearted dog. She never growled or barked unless she was playing or another dog was being aggressive. She loved to go for walks and visit friends. At 10-1/2 she accepted a doodle puppy as her own.
She’s been a rock solid companion for all these years. She didn’t make messes, she didn’t get into things. You could leave a steak on the coffee table and she wouldn’t touch it. She took her last meal and like always, when she finished, she brought me her bowl.
She has been the highest energy lab I’ve ever had. She’s retrieval was fast, focused and on point. She was precise like few others. I watched her grab a bird out of the air, mid flight. Once, she brought me a baby owl that had fallen out of a tree. Is was just a ball of feathers about the size of a tennis ball. She dropped that baby owl at my feet unharmed. Because that’s just how she is.
Here’s a couple of shots of her throughout her life. One thing I noticed is that in almost every photo I have, she has her tongue out, because she was always running around. One of her first days at the beach, going for a ride, helping me install a new mail box, in the flower bed, at her happy place at the lake and into the sunset….
I love you girl, you will always be the best!
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