Rest in peace, my pet, my family.

When people say that they are getting a pet, they have no idea what they are getting into. Once you look into those little eyes, you are hooked. I have four little dachshunds. Well three really as one is my daughters. Two of them adopted at older ages, but one came to me at 6 weeks old. He is the only dog I have ever had from puppyhood on. He is 13 now. He still has a few good years left in him. His name is Gravy. Now I don't want to get any emails or comments about how naming him that could hurt his little self esteem. This dog is a stud, and his name has never bothered him. In fact he really clowns around about it. He has used it to his advantage over the years. He's a lover, not a fighter, really.

About a month ago we though our guy had the puppy flu. He was getting sick everywhere in the house. On floors, on beds. An equal opportunity barfer. Then it stopped. We thought he was better. But we noticed he had lost some weight. Now you might be saying to yourself, "no big deal" Well it was a big deal. You see our little doxi was obese for his size. He had been up to 25 lbs at one time, and we had worked him down to a healthy 20. He had gone down to 18 and even though that was healthy, to us it was too thin from what we were used to. Then it happened. He started to throw up again. Food, water, everything. And his cheek was swollen. The vet said he had an abscessed tooth. He sent him home on antibiotics and pain medicine and he went back to normal after a week. Yea.

But wait, there's more. A few days after getting better he got worse. He went from 18 to 15 in one week. Eating baby food, because he couldn't keep down dog food, and can barely keep down water. Today we got results back from blood work he had done yesterday. My little Gravy is a diabetic. He can't be helped. We will be saying goodbye to him in just a few hours. The whole family has been taking turns cuddling him and talking to him. We took our final family picture.

Are you asking, how does this have anything to do with a beautiful life? It's so sad? Well, I will tell you how it does. This little dog became more than just a pet. You get a pet thinking that is all it will be. But no, they become a clown, a confidant, a cuddler, a best friend, a family member. You love them. They love you unconditionally. Even though I am sad for this day. I would trade the 13 yrs filled with 365 days of pure faithful love from my friend Gravy. If your lonely, if you need a friend, go rescue a lonely puppy or cat from the aspca.

Leslie