Saying Goodbye

When we adopted Makayla 5 1/2 years ago, she had had a tough start in life and I promised her she would have nothing but the best life for however long she had left. And we've been utterly blessed to have her with us for 5 1/2 years. Over that time, we've laughed and cried and "grrrrrr'd" as she frustrated us. But no matter what, we've always loved her. And she's always loved us.

Her body is giving out - her spirit and spunk could last forever, but her body just isn't going to last. And she's not happy not being independent and able to do things for herself. She's tired - it takes all she has to make it through the days. And that's no way for our special girl to live.

So this weekend we will say goodbye to our Sister. How do we even begin to say goodbye? How do we begin to tell her just how much we love her? Just how much we've enjoyed having her in our lives? How much we're going to miss her? How we'll always remember her? We're going to spend the next several days doing nothing but loving her and cherishing her. And then we're going to do the hardest thing any pet owner can ever do - we're going to let her go and be at peace again. Even though our hearts will hurt, we're going to give her her health back so she can run and jump and climb again. Even though we're going to cry and grieve, it's the most loving thing we can do for her. And knowing she's healthy again will make it just a touch easier for us to live without her.

To our Sister - we love you more than you'll ever know.