A sad goodbye to our sweet dog, Maggie

Yesterday we had to put our sweet dog, Maggie, to sleep.

We have been blessed to have Maggie as part of our family for the past 8 years.

We discovered her at the Animal Shelter when she was a puppy. Her story is really one of a miracle.

Soon after we brought her home from the shelter, she came down with distemper. Unfortunately, many puppies who contract distemper rarely pull through. But with our amazing veterinarian, Dr. Scott McComb, and prayer, she survived this horrible disease. At least for the past 8 1/2 years. Maggie’s distemper came back and we had to make the decision to put her to sleep before she began experiencing the worst of the disease… seizures.

Because I was the one who initially nursed her through her severe illness as a young puppy and was usually at home with her during the day, she had become quite attached to me. People would joke that she was just like my shadow, always 3 steps behind me.

This, I think, is the most difficult part of losing a beloved pet… missing their company throughout the day. Even our 11 year old Standard Schnauzer, Buster, is clearly lost without his “sidekick”.

If you are an animal lover and have been blessed to have a pet as part of your family, you know how difficult it is to lose one.

Although my head knows that everything will be o.k. and that Maggie is no longer in pain, my heart is broken.

My husband, Neil, always said that Maggie won the lottery when we rescued her from the Animal Shelter. But really, we are the ones who won.

I wanted to share some final pictures taken yesterday of our sweet, sweet Maggie. What a gift we were given to have her in our lives. She will be dearly missed.

Buster seemed to know womething was wrong with Maggie. Amazing what dogs can sense.