It’s been a couple of months since we said goodbye to our beautiful lab, Brook. She was a wonderful part of our family for nine years, and we miss her everyday. I was hesitant to post this on my blog because it is so personal, but it was also a privilege to have that time to tell her how much she meant to us and for me to capture these emotional and intimate moments.
Here is the original post I made to facebook a couple of weeks after she passed:
After we learned that Brook’s kidneys were failing the day after Thanksgiving, we tried to prepare ourselves for her condition. The vet told us we were looking at 6 weeks to 6 months; however, she quickly started to lose weight and as her body stopped ridding itself of toxins, it plagued her joints and she limped in pain. We tried to manage her pain with medication and make her comfortable while we read lots of information about symptoms and what to expect. It had only been a short two weeks from when we took her in to when we decided she was suffering too much. Lance had said from the beginning that the humane thing to do was not to let her suffer. She was already skin and bones and when she hadn’t eaten in days we decided it was time. Although it was the kind thing to do, it was also a hard thing to do. To have to explain to our eleven year-old that she was slowly starving to death, and even though we wanted to hold on to her longer, we were only thinking of what was best for Brook. I convinced Lance to wait until the next morning. I needed to say goodbye, our daughters needed to say goodbye. I also felt the need to photograph our precious last moments with her. Somehow it helped me grieve.
My heart still aches a little when Mirabelle, our youngest asks “Where is my dog? I love my dog.” I wish I could figure out a way to tell her she isn’t coming back. I know she doesn’t understand. “I love her too.” I respond.
Congrats to this wonderful couple from San Francisco!
