i've had this window open on my computer for days... i'll write a sentence or two, but it never seems to come out the way that i want it. i am struggling to find the right words. this is not an easy post to write, but i feel that i need to write something. perhaps it will help. but i will warn you now that this is going to be a sad one.
if you have been reading my blog for a little while, or if you know us in real life, you probably know how important our pets are to us. we got our 2 dogs and the 2 cats 6.5 years ago, and we consider them to be our family. we love them very much, and we've all been through a lot together.
last wednesday, one of our dogs, reese, passed away very suddenly.
reese was our happy dog, he loved everyone and everything. i can remember the day that we got reese and cooper - there were over a dozen puppies in the litter and right away reese picked out mike. while we looked at and played with all of the puppies, reese just kept following mike around. he was devoted from the very beginning. we ended up taking home 2 puppies that day, and it was one of the best things we've ever done. even though they were very different, reese and cooper were inseparable, and we couldn't have asked for better dogs.
![743048510_869acbdb26_b[1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uz6NLeJSbGFsn6Bye9f8UN0CmhjHr8rKRnCMKW3Z6PdnHqcFHLJkKeqNQx9g8Y6jZhTlwgyqdezQIUxwPC8NXVIjQqbD2uNakSHoVVtWP3LDhAvy1C7-J7TrLq4m5jTth2=s0-d)
we always referred to reese as our "perfect golden". he had the best smile, and would always give you puppy-dog eyes if he wanted something. he loved belly rubs, peanut butter, and stealing toys away from cooper. even as he got older he would still bounce around the house in excitement when we came home from work, or if we mentioned the word "walk". he gave lots of kisses, and he would sit for hours with his head in your lap, just waiting for you to pet him.
i'd like to think that we gave him a great life. our dogs have gone on vacation with us and always travel with us for family visits. one of the big reasons why we bought our house was because we wanted to give the dogs a yard to play in. when reese had shoulder issues a few years ago (his only prior health problem) we didn't think twice before emptying our savings to pay for his surgery.
we do not know what happened last wednesday, and i don't think we'll ever know for sure. i came home from work and everything was normal. i let the dogs out in the backyard just as mike was arriving home from work. reese was standing on the deck between us. he was fine, and then he was not, and then he was gone. mike and i rushed him to the emergency vet but there was nothing that they could do. they tell us it was probably a heart attack or a blood clot. there were no warnings, no signs. i do take comfort in the fact that mike and i were both there with him, and that i don't think he really suffered.
i am amazed at how much your life can change in just 30 seconds.
the last week has been very difficult, but we're starting to do a little better. our house seems empty, it is strange. we've been trying to keep busy and that helps. cooper has been calm and mellow, i think that he really misses reese. we've been spending extra time with him and giving him extra love. honestly i think that trying to be strong for cooper is also helping me.
we were so lucky and so blessed to have reese in our lives, even if our time with him was cut short. we will always love him, and he will never be forgotten.
