Bailey was mine and my husbands baby. We had her for a wonderful 10 and a half years. we had to put her to sleep two weeks ago and as every pet owner knows it was the hadest dicision we ever had to make. Bailey was a beatiful red colored Golden Reteiver , she love to swim in the lake, fetch a stick we would throw for her and keep it up all day if we let her. She was also a camping dog. We are still in shock and the house is so lonley and quiet without here. she was everywhere and all the routines that we ahd we still ahve to do those things without her. we just put her toys and pillows away this weekend but we still ahve her bowls out and the water bowl is still kept filled. i have had dogs growing up and have benn thru this before , but i have never been that close to a dog before, she was our whole life. Bailey was my husband first dog and she was his girl and he is taking this so hard we have read a few books and Pet Loss and onse of them really helped him to finally let it out. He had been feeling that he had’nt morned her enough because he could’nt cry I am very greatful to that book. like I said she was 10 and a half and when she turned ten she went blind almost over night with a consdition called S.A.R.D (sudden aquierd retinal degeneration) she coped with that well we even took her to a doggie opthamologist (did’nt even know they had those). three weeks ago we had gotten back from a camping weekend and on that Sunday night she had a seizure, it came out of nowhere.

 The next day we took her to our Vet who had taken care of her all her life and in my opinion is the best Vet around. her took blood work and gave us some anti seizure meds, her labs came back that her and her Liver enzymes were high and that could have caused the seizures. she had two more the next two days but we think something happen to her brain with the first one because she would not lay down ahe would walk in circles it was doubly hard because she could not see and would run into things. puting her to sleep was the hardest thing but it was the right thing. She was not our baby ,her quality of life was not there anymore . we made the dicision and we were with her every moment til the end. i told her to think of swimming in the lake and fetching her stick. i was so hard but to not have been there would have been worse. i know it will get easier and i know it will take time. This weekend we had a little memorial service at her favorite lake, i made a wreath and we threw it in the lake and sprinkled some of her ashes. it was theraputic. writing all this down helps a lot to. and to everyone who has gone thru this just remember the are waiting for us on the other side. i hope this was not to long winded but i needed to write this for my puppy girl.

Leah from Ohio