It's Hard to Stay Goodbye

Yesterday we said goodbye to our old boy, Jock. Jock was not in our breeding family but was the "god father" of the group.

As a family, letting Jock go was an extremely painful experience. Jock was healthy right up until a sudden change of events and we had to make a difficult decision to put him down. Jock was our first miniature schnauzer. He saved us from God-only-knows how many garter snakes (he'd driven them all out of our 3-acre yard by the time he turned two). He had every squirrel in the vicinity on high-alert (and probably in therapy) and the deer knew just how to taunt him by hanging out at the very edge of our invisible fence-- and he loved their games.

No one could come home without Jock at the car door leading the welcoming committee even before the door was opened. He led the crew at bus time to meet the kids at the end of the driveway.

Jock was my husband's shadow. My daughters do not remember life before him. My 15-year-old son named him. He had the most amazing brown eyes that would gaze back at me forever.Those eyes are what I will remember most.

Losing a pet, having to put one down before you are ready, is harder than I could have ever imagined. We progress through the stages of grief each of us at our own pace. When it was time to say goodbye, we were with him as he fell asleep. As a family we cried together.

Jock will forever be a part of our family and as I have made very clear to my children I do believe firmly that all dogs do go to Heaven. We were created in God's image and with that in mind I cannot help but believe that God loves dogs just as much as we do and of course Jock is in heaven playing and will be waiting at the door when we arrive one day.

Jock, buddy, we miss you more than our broken hearts can express. We love you and you will live on in our memories until we see you again.

Love,

Your Family

Christa, Dean, Mason, Lucy, Gretchen and Katy.