Dakota Girl

My sweet Dakota got sick out of the blue last week and went down hill fast. To save you from unfortunate details we had to put her down last Tuesday. It was absolutely one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Especially as a nurse, having worked in oncology I have had to deal with "Loss" more than I would like and more than I think is natural. I am not trying to compare the loss of a child with the loss of a dog, however it was still the loss of one of our family members. Joe and I got Dakota about a month after we got married, she was only 7 yrs old. I think the hardest thing has been missing her at home...all of the little things she used to do that honestly probably annoyed us before. She was always on your heels following you from room to room, if I was cooking in the kitchen she inevitably would lie down right behind me and make me trip when I turned to move, if you were sitting on the floor she would immediately come over as that was clearly her invitation for loving attention, she would often sit right on your lap as though she were a small dog (she weighed 50 lbs)! When you came home from work/from being out and about she would wiggle and shake and just about bend herself in half from excitement (I've never seen another dog bend like that!) She would let the boys climb on her, pull on her ears, anything, without so much as a whimper or growl...she just laid there as though she enjoyed it!

Brennan doesn't fully grasp the concept (thankfully) he "talks" to her in heaven. He asked God to be good to her, play with her lots, let her give you lots of kisses, and let her eat whatever she wants! Another night he asked "Kota" to be a good dog to God! Isaac definitely doesn't get it, although I do think the first few days he was looking around for her......Zeus (our other dog) is definitely lonely but he's hanging in there.

We miss you Dakota!