Sad news

My childhood pet, Abby, was put to sleep this past Friday after a recent discovery of a neurological problem. This was possibly curable but due to her age (14) and her other problems(arthritis, eyesight and hearing), even if she recovered which would be very hard on her, it wasn't likely she would have a great life. My family was forced to make a decision for what was best for her, so the vet came over to our house and put my puppy to sleep. According to my mom, she was asleep the whole time which I am so grateful for because I would have hated for her to be aware(as much as a dog could be) of what was going on and I also think it would have been rough on my family. My poor mom is heartbroken because Abby was really always her dog, her buddy who followed her around everywhere and she depended on my mom just as much as my mom depended on her to always be there.

Though this is not the same feeling as when my aunt passed away earlier this year in May, I still feel I have lost a family member and it still hurts. This has been a tough year and it's times like these that I wish I were back in the states with my family and friends. In a way, I think I had the easy way out not being there to see my dog get progressively worse with age and then in recent times where my dad had to carry her outside to go to the bathroom when she could just not walk around. Also, I wasn't there when the vet came for my own closure as well as to be there for my family. It sure will be weird to go back home in September to a dogless, empty-feeling house. I really think it won't hit me until then. If you never had a childhood pet, I think this concept of a pet as a family member would be pretty hard to understand, but as someone who had a cat at 7 and a dog at 10, boy do I get it. We grew up together. Anyway, so that's my news for now. I included a recent picture of Abby which is one I got from my mom and is not the best to represent her, but it's all I got. Hope all is better in your neck of the woods!