My dad called me yesterday to tell me that my childhood dog had passed away. She was a 15 year old (we got her when I was 11) Yorkshire Terrier named Mollie Lynn Shallowmar (my sister and I named her :) ). We had been expecting it for a while now, but we didn't know exactly how long she might hang on. Over the past year, she had really gone down. She hadn't been able to walk on her back legs really well, and recently not at all. We noticed she was drinking a lot of water and urinating a lot - wetting her bed, the floor, herself....so my parents put her in a diaper to keep from having to change her puppy pads so much (which had moved from the floor to being a liner in her bed). She had really bad cataracts, and she couldn't hear. My parents thought about having her put to sleep, but it's hard to make that decision when the dog's body isn't working well but her mind is just fine. That was hardest for me. She and I had a really special bond, and not matter how long I went without coming home, she knew when I walked in the door - regardless of the fact that she couldn't see or hear. She just knew. I'd sit with her, talk to her, brush her, pet her (I knew her favorite spots). Last time I saw her, I was sitting with her and she was just content knowing that someone was nearby. Lately, every time I would see her I'd be sure to talk to her more, rub her, show her how much she was cared for....because I knew it would be soon. I had a little talk with her and told her that if she needed to go, we would be okay - that we'd miss her terribly and it would never be the same, but we wanted her to be comfortable. I did make a deal with her though; I told her she had to make to her birthday so she could say she made it 105 years old, and she had to go in her sleep...peacefully. Well, she died yesterday morning, which happened to be her 15th birthday, and she went peacefully in her sleep. I prayed and prayed that God would take her this way, and as soon as my dad told me, one of the first things I did was thank God for answering that prayer for me. I realize that she's an animal and that some people don't believe they have the significance when it comes to prayer, but I believe that they're God's creation just as we are, and He wouldn't want a part of creation to suffer. I will miss Mollie terribly; I've cried my tears and made my peace. I'm just thankful for all the time we had with her. Not everyone gets to share so much of their life with their family dog. She's been my dog since I was in elementary school - she saw me through elementary, middle, and high school....college...grad school...marriage...and pregnancy. She was a wonderful pet and member of the family.
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