Losing a Beloved Dog

Those of you who know me best know that I love my dogs as if they are the children I never birthed. In June we lost our 14 year old Beagle Jilly. She had liver problems, blood problems, and finally kidney disease. The last couple of years were really borrowed time for her, and we felt blessed to have extended her well lived life in spite of her ailments. She never lost her joy of licking, baying at the wind, and annoying her sister Minnie. We were sad to have to let her go, but the time had come when her quality of life had diminished greatly. My heart is once again broken today. Our Jack Russell Terrier died unexpectedly after a short bout of pneumonia. We thought she would live to be 16 or 17 years old. Our vet said just this week that her blood work looked like that of a much younger dog. She was almost 13. Thankfully, we have another dog to love and cherish for as long as God allows. He is a 15 month old Border Collie that we rescued last year. I love this dog dearly, but my house is suddenly quiet without the jingle of Minnie's tags as she constantly patrolled the windows and doors looking for the passing walker or bicyclist. Her job was to warn us of their obvious nefarious intentions toward our home. I will never stop listening for that jingle, just as I still listen for the sound of Jilly's distinctive bark in the yard. Today is truly the end of an era: our first set of hounds, our first camping buddies, the first dogs we acquired together as a married couple. We will always have dogs. There is always room in our hearts for more dogs, but none will ever be the same as these two. Jilly and Minnie, wherever you run today, know that you carry a huge chunk of our hearts with you.