Peanut,

It’s been more than a year since you’ve passed away, and to this day, my eyes get watery when I talk about you. I still remember the first day my parents brought you home – I was only nine years old and you were still a puppy. Even when you were starting to get sick and develop heart problems, that didn’t stop you from being the happy and energetic puppy that you always were.

You proved to me that it is possible to love something (someone) because all you brought to my life was pure happiness. You knew how difficult it was for me to talk about my emotions, but for some reason you knew exactly when I was sad. It was so easy talking to you about everything and even though I’m not sure if you understood exactly what I was talking about, having you there next to me was all I needed to feel better.

On two separate occasions, you demonstrated your bravery and became my hero. When you got bitten by a Rottweiler twice, you sacrificed your life so you could save mine. You knew he was going to attack me, so you stood in front and took the hit for me. Your injuries appeared fatal to me, so I couldn’t stop crying at the thought of losing you at that very moment. Thankfully, we took you to the vet and you survived. Even though you were a tiny little Dachshund, you fought hard and I can never thank you enough for saving my life and protecting me.

In June of 2015, we took you to the emergency hospital because your coughs were getting worse and you were having trouble breathing. We were all anxious and nervous waiting for a diagnosis from the veterinarian. When she finally called us over, you weren’t in the room and by the look on her face we knew it wasn’t good news. First, she told us you were receiving oxygen treatment in a separate room so you can breathe better. Afterwards, she explained that the reason you were having trouble breathing was because you had backed up fluid in your lungs caused by your heart’s inability to pump sufficient blood throughout your body. You had Congestive Heart Failure, and it was so severe that no matter what we tried to do, the prognosis wasn’t looking good. We followed all of her directions and all we could do was try to improve your quality and length of life.

July 5th, 2015, was the day you passed away. You were too weak and suffering way too much, so early in the morning mom took you to the emergency hospital again to get treated but there was nothing else they could do. I wasn’t there to see you, but I knew it killed mom and dad when they knew they had to euthanize you. For so many months, I cried myself to sleep because I knew I could never have you here with me physically ever again. You were the best thing that has ever happened to me and if I could do anything to bring you back, I would. God sent me an angel, and I know you’re in heaven not suffering. One day we will see each other again, but until then, I love you so much Peanut.