We had to put down our precious 13 year old Yorkie, Sugar, almost three years ago. She was the first dog we had as “empty nesters”, and she was our baby. She not only slept in our bed, she slept on the pillow with one of us part of the night and on the other pillow the rest of the night. If I was holding her in my arms when my husband came in from work, he kissed her before he kissed me. She developed fluid on her heart when she was ten. Low doses of medicine worked for about a year, then it had to be increased. Our vet told us the medicine would eventually cause kidney failure but taking her off the medicine would cause her to die of heart failure. January 21, 2005, I took her to the vet to have her teeth cleaned. I authorized his doing blood work before putting her under for the cleaning. An hour later, the vet called me with the news that Sugar was already in kidney failure and couldn’t live more than a week. The vet said she would most likely have a seizure, and it could happen any time. My husband was going to leave on a week-long ski trip the next day, and I knew I couldn’t face her dying without him; nor could he have stood not being with her. So we made the decision to have her put down at 6:00 that evening. When I picked Sugar up from the vet, I took her home to do all of her favorite things and eat her favorite foods.

Sugar had loved to take showers and baths since she was a puppy. If we’d have let her, she would have taken a shower with us every day. If bath water was running and the door was open, she was in the tub. So she and I took a shower that day, I dryed her hair with her snuggled in a towel in my lap, and I let her eat all the Lipton’s Chicken Noodle soup that she wanted…one of her favorite foods but one I hadn’t given her in three years because of her heart problem and the high amount of sodium in the soup. Our daughter and her children came over to tell Sugar goodbye, and we all cried together. My husband came home from work early, and we loved on her until 6:00 when we took her to the vet, who allowed us to bring her in after his office was closed. I held her in my arms while the vet put the needle in her leg. She closed her eyes and was gone. Our vet and his assistant cried with us. and consoled us. My husband went on the ski trip which was the best thing for him to do. I stayed home and grieved for a week which was the best thiing for me to do. Two weeks later we brought home our new baby, another Yorkie named Sweetie. She hasn’t taken the place of Sugar, but she has eased the pain. Sweetie responds to “Sugar” because everyone slips and calls her that. I look forward to reading your book…even though I know I’m going to bawl my eyes out.

Gloria from Texas