Thursday, July 26, 2012

Chewie

Dan found Chewie in a snowy parking lot 15 years ago when she was a teeny tiny fur ball of a pup.  She has been with Dan through some hard times and was definitely the diva of the house when I married him.  She had more toys and treats than one could have imagined and even got more room on the bed than I did(at first).  It took some adjusting on all of our parts when I came into the equation. 

I have always teased Dan about his baby and refused to do any of the dirty work when it came to the dog.  Even though she was extremely well behaved, I struggled with having a dog in the house.  I'm notorious for complaining about her and often crack jokes about making her into a rug when she was naughty.  She didn't really take a liking to me until I got pregnant, and then she became protective of me.  No matter how hard I tried to not like having a dog, she was a big part of our life.  She is all my kids know, she is all I know being married to Dan, she has always been a constant.  She was part of our family(I always made fun of people who said stuff like that).


Over the last year she became deaf and practically blind.  The past few months we noticed she was having a harder time walking, she would often fall when her hind legs would give out.  About 2 weeks ago, the kids and I took her for a walk and I practically pulled her the entire way.  She would fall with every step she took and would not stop panting.  We knew she was looking old and Dan was really worried about her being in pain.  We started her on some vitamins for arthritis and decided to watch for any improvement.

She made a quick turn for the worse when Dan went to check on her yesterday.  She could not walk at all, refused to eat or drink anything and actually snipped at Dan when he tried to help her stand to go to the bathroom. It was time to say goodbye.

Jace prays that the doctor can give Chewie medicine to help her come back, and Camden is quick to yell, "She is not coming back. She is with Heavenly Father".  Even though I hate to admit it because I was good about complaining, I feel a twinge of sadness knowing that chapter is over.  I know she was Dan's baby and this has been extremely hard for him.  I feel a sting of guilt when I open the boys window and don't "have" to yell at Chewie for barking. Who knew a dog could make this Negative Nelly cry.


Our sweet friends brought over this giant grocery bag full of all sorts of "chewy" treats to show their love.

Now what am I gonna gripe to Dan about?

3 comments:

Amee said...

Ok now I am crying. My sister just had to put her dog down that had been with them for 15 years! I never thought I would love dogs but I fell in love with my sisters dog and now Aaron and I have 2! (I will admit that now that we have a baby I spend a good amount of time complaining too.) Thanks for the reminder to love them while they are here! I'm sorry for your loss.

Tawnya said...

Poor Dan! That stinks.

DontYouWishYouWereUS said...

Oh Lissa, this is so sad. I am sorry that Chewy is no longer with you. Please know that you and your family are in my thoughts often. Sending love your way.