Goodbye Old Friend...

It has been weeks since we said goodbye to Jake but I haven't been able to post about it. He was 8 and we thought perfectly healthy. We discovered a tumor on a monday at around 2:00. It was massive and bleeding. I held him while we said goodbye. We had him for 8 years. He was Ryan's first dog and my first 'baby'. We were deeply devoted to him and he to us. He lived in 5 places, including a frat house with us. He was smart and sensitive and the best friend to me. I will miss him. He was a pound pup- a risk...and we risked it and I spent countless hours in the dark- running him around, taking him to the woods, worrying about him being home alone for too long. He stalked me when I was pregnant (before I knew even) and snuggled into my belly (there's a pic). He was a chance and we gave him a great life and he was our first sort of sense of 'family' and what it meant to take care of something together. We took another chance about a week after we said goodbye. We went to the humane society and noticed a dog who had similar eyes. The other dogs were barking and going nuts and she was looking at us, head cocked to the side. We knew she was for us and felt instantly both connected to her and reconnected to Jake. I am grateful for the miles and miles we walked, the evenings we snuggled....finding Jake happy and wagging after he jumped the fence countless times (he had springs in his legs) and was attending what we called a 'birthday party'- meaning playing in another dogs yard, and I am most grateful for what he taught me and my then boyfriend, now husband of 7 years about loving someone together.