Sad, sad day...

Heidi, July 1999 - March 2012

My beautiful baby girl is gone.  Oh Heidi, how I miss you.  You were so sweet, but also stubborn at times.  You let us know if anyone was in our yard... or if they were even CLOSE to our yard.  You never did anything you didn't want to, and back-talked more than I can count :)

Heidi & Thor making snow angels 2007

My dear sweet baby girl, my heart is breaking and I don't know how it will mend.

Daddy & Heidi 2007

You were Poot & my first fur-baby.  We brought you home when you were six months old.  And even though your papers read "Foster's Revenge of Missy", which was a combination of your parents' names & ours, you were lovingly called Heidi.  My beautiful blonde K9 kid.

My Sleeping Beauty 2008

Heidi's favorite spot at the top of the stairs 2008

When you were younger, you would play fetch & Frisbee until daddy & I were pooped... and you STILL wanted to play :)  Oh, those ooey-gooey slobber-soaked toys (yuck!).  Thankfully we found an automatic ball-thrower so you could play even when we weren't home.  I guess I should say TWO ball-throwers, since you wore out the first one.  

So cute!  How could anyone say "no" to that face?  2008

You loved swimming at the lake and didn't know when to quit... that's when we made you start wearing a life vest.  And every summer you got a new baby pool in the backyard.  You loved to just climb in to cool off, maybe play ball for a bit, then plunge back into the pool.

I remember the day that you brought me "a present".  You came bounding in the door with a dead bird.  Uh, eewww.  You were so proud, you dropped it beside me and looked up at me with a smile and a wagging tail.  Of course, I freaked-out.  It happened to be the night of your daddy's bachelor party, so every guy I knew was out and about.  Your grandma Bev had to come to my rescue and disposed of it.  Thank goodness.  You obviously didn't know that your were not a hunter's bird-dog :)

So angelic... 2008

And though for the last year or two you haven't been able to jump up on the bed, before that it was your favorite place to be :)  I have countless pictures of you snuggled up in our covers, or spread-out on your back like a little person.

Soooooo lady-like.  2009

You had a thyroid issue and had been on meds for years.  Evidently, a long-term side-effect was that it caused your tear-production to stop.  You lost one eye because of this, but with surgery you were able to keep the other.  Oh my little one-eyed bruiser.

And this is tame compared to how muddy you would get!  2009

You were a tomboy from day one.  You loved to follow daddy on the lawnmower and throw your tennis balls in his path, just to watch them shoot out the side and chase them.  Your feet and forearms would be grass-stained for days, but you had fun.  Not to mention the rainy days when you would play in the puddles and mud holes.  Yes... tomboy.

Awww.  2009

You didn't like other bitches, but you were fine when we brought home a brother for you :)  You two were so different... you were very hyper & major licker, while Thor was (is) laid back.  You were a daddy's girl and would follow him everywhere.  But when mommy was home, you were by my side, laying on my feet, or constantly underfoot (especially in the kitchen).  Oh how I will miss that.

Gee, babies... there is a lot of blanket left over.  So sweet, 2010

These past few months your health seemed to spiral down, and there was nothing we could do.  We knew you were getting old, especially for a dog your size.  We tried to prepare ourselves, but I don't think there really is a way to do that.  Your poor little back legs would sometimes buckle under you, and you just couldn't walk well.  Sometimes it would take two of us to help you go outside just so you could go potty.  We knew this was no way for you to live.  It would've been so selfish of us to let it go on.  We had to let you go.  Oh gawd, it was so hard.  I'm having a meltdown as I write this, my dear sweet baby girl.  I'm glad I spent the entire day with you yesterday... though I was crying through most of it.  I'm glad daddy was by your side today, so that you were not alone in your last minutes.  I was afraid you would be shaking and scared, like you knew what was to come, but he said that you were fine, and that it was just as if you drifted off for a nap.  Oh, my angel.  Daddy came home and we both broke down.

Everywhere I look, I see your sweet face.  Wonderful and bittersweet memories around every corner.  Your favorite spot at the top of the stairs.  The floor next to daddy's side of the bed, where you would sometimes nap.  Daddy's office floor, my craft room floor right next to my chair.  The edge of the sink countertop in the hall bath where you chewed the corner off when you were a baby.  Your food bowl.  The rug in front of the door.  Your bed.  Duckie.  The tooth marks on every wooden spindle going down the stairs from when you were teething.  You are everywhere, my girl.  And I love you.

Heidi & Duckie 2011