Good bye Addie; love you, miss you

I was going to take some time and write this out all perfect like, but honestly I just think I need to get it out and get it gone, so please forgive me as a ramble. Friday my dog died. Blunt, simple, honest, she was young, and her heart gave out for no reason, vet said there was absolutely nothing we could have done. More on the details of the event to follow, I'm more interested right now in talking about how this amazing little ball of fur touched my life.

Back in 2007 wifey and I were ready to add to our family but we weren't ready to have kids. We both love dogs and decided that was the natural next move. My Uncle is a breeder of English Springer Spaniels and has always said I can have a dog whenever I want one, so plans were made and we counted the days (not unlike having a kid.)

On October 7th we got a call that the puppies had been born, and that there was one dog in particular who was perfect for me, so perfect in fact that she was given the name "Shawn's Dog." Two weeks later wifey and I made the 5 hour road trip to my uncles house to meet the dog's and pick out our dog. "Shawn's Dog" had been given a secret name so that our (my) choice wouldn't be influenced. We got there and played with the dogs, they were all amazing, but there was one dog who just stood out, she was the runt of the litter, fast, smart, and ran the show. It was love at first sight. I bonded with that puppy that day and made my choice, this would be "Shawn's Dog" whether or not she was the first dog to be given that name. I found out after telling him that She was the dog I wanted, that "Tiny" was actually "Shawn's Dog."

It was four more weeks before "Shawn's Dog" came home. I was home from work that day so I had an entire day with her to myself. We tried out names, but nothing seemed to stick, Charlie, Cali, Cachia (wifey is crazy sometimes), finally we settled on Addie, based on a character called the bone woman from a book I was reading at the time.

Addie was amazing, curious, funny, adventurous, loyal, and just so loving. It's hard to put into words, everyone say's they have the best dog in the world but there was just something about Addie's personality, everyone loved her, anti dog people loved her (tolerated is probably more accurate but still). There is so much I can say about her life, but mostly, it was too short. She was never happier then when she was swimming or playing fetch, she woke me up every morning, usually by snuggling up really close, putting her nose in my face and sighing into my mouth until I woke up.

The weird thing this week has been going to the bathroom and not being followed by Addie, watching the news before work without her laying on my feet, and coming home and not having her greet me at the door. Because as I started this post with, Addie died on Friday, for those of you who don't do math well, Addie would have turned 4 in October. I really wan't to type out the details of Addie's last day with us, but I think she deserves more. Short form, she apparently had a heart defect that was undetected, after a couple of hours swimming her heart gave out. My dog died in my arms on the way to the vet, I used CPR, brought her back once, but she went again withing a few seconds. Addie was dead in my arms for 10-15 minutes before we reached the vet. I prayed and hoped but I knew it was too late, there was nothing to be done.

I took her the top of Sumas mountain and buried her with her favorite toys, collar, and a few other items that night...I also drank, a lot...Saturday we went back to the grave so Wifey and my little girl could see it and say good bye. We covered her with rocks and put her puppy collar on her grave. It's a weird experience, what do you say in a situation like this. Wifey said good bye, I said thank you, but it was the words of my daughter that were just perfect. When we prompted her to say good bye, my two year old daughter looked at the grave and said, "Good bye Addie; love you, miss you."

Nothing I could write will ever sum up my feelings better the those words spoken by a little girl 2 and a half years old. It's amazing how much a dog can mean to you, how complete they can make a family. Addie was without a doubt my best friend.