"Dogs know more than you think they do."

My dad said this, in response to me wondering if our dog, Chloe, knew we were just trying to make her feel better. For about a week I had been stuffing pills down her throat, syringe feeding her anything I could, because she wouldn't eat and was so sick. We had taken her to the vet and found out she had heart disease, among other things. I was afraid of her hating me, as I was the pill giver, and she started to hobble away when she would see me coming with a syringe in my hand.

Sometimes I think it's not fair that dogs don't live as long as we do. Chloe was only nine years old, but we had only had her for maybe seven of them. She chose us, instead of us choosing her. Living out in the country, it's not unusual for dogs to wander into your yard, but it is a bit unusual when a dog decides to bring her liter of puppies to our yard. How could we deny her? We asked her owners, one of our neighbors, if we could keep her, and they agreed.

She was a great mother, and had two liters of puppies, with a lot of puppies in each of them. Finally we got her fixed, because while we love animals, there's only so many you can take care of and be responsible about it. She never lost her wandering ways, though, because she would always go on adventures around the country side, chasing deer and making friends. When we started to keep her as an inside dog, my bed was her favorite place to be, especially if she heard a loud noise and got scared (she was big, but a scaredy-cat).

My family has had a lot of animals. I don't think there has been a moment of my life where I haven't had a pet by my side, whether it was a dog or cat or snake or gerbil. You tend to remember all of them, no matter how long its been. I remember Casey, who died a year or two ago, and Little Bit, who died a long time ago, and so many others. Sassy has lived through a lot, and is almost sixteen years old. Sixteen! That little dog has lived through so many other dogs, and misses them when they're gone too. I'm beginning to think she's putting hits on the other dogs so she can still be number one.

We were going to put her down On Monday, the 1st, after a lot of family discussion about what was best. We didn't want to see her suffer, above all else. She had been breathing heavy, and was sluggish, only moving to go from one room to another and flopping down. We tried to make her feel better, and had hope she would pull through. However, the vet told us, "I'm going to prepare you for the first, but we're going to hope for the best." Hoping can only do so much however, and ultimately, it's not up to you whether they will pull through.

Chloe didn't give us the decision to put her down, and decided to pass away on her own, in her home where she was comfortable, the day before we were going to put her to rest.

Do you think animals all get together when they die? Do they all group up and wait for their owners to come play with them again? That all sounds really morbid, but it's stuff you think about when you've lost a furry friend. If you haven't had animals that might sound weird to you, but pets become your family. They're with you through everything, good and bad, and they never judge. When they're gone, it hurts, and I've seen a lot of them come and go. Dogs and other animals can have such a powerful impact on you in their short life span.

I've learned to grieve well for animals, and appreciate the time I've had with them. We have three other dogs, and I love them, and I'll miss them when they're gone too. For now, I will play with them, get annoyed with them, clean up all the things they destroy and everything in between.

If you've got a pet, go hug them for me, and for Chloe.