Goodbye Daisy

Today was a sorrowful day as we said goodbye to our Daisy. She had not been in good health for several months, and last Thursday it became clear that we needed to schedule her last trip to the veterinarian. The hours after I made the call the vet, I was literally doubled over with stomach pain, and I battled with it throughout the weekend. She was not in good health. Her weight was dropping significantly, and she was having cognitive problems. We spent the weekend doing some fun things with her, trying to say good-bye. We took her outside to play with the kids, and we took her to a park with them. Outings of any kind had become difficult for her because she was loosing her hearing, so it was a big deal to take her to the park. She was the smartest dog I've ever had, and we will certainly miss her.

Daisy first stole our hearts in May of 2002. We got her from the Humane Society of Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. She wasn't quite a year old. To say that she was full of energy is an understatement, and she always loved riding in the car. Car rides were one thing that she still found joy in during her last days, but it was hard for her to spend the night in unfamiliar places. The last trip we took with her was this past September. We took her and Lily and the kids to Arkansas. She kept me and James awake more at night than the babies did. Poor girl. It was so sad to realize that she wasn't able to travel with us any longer.

We made a host of wonderful memories with her throughout the twelve years that we had together. From pharmacy school in Little Rock, adding Lily to the family, to moving to Baton Rouge for graduate school, to settling in St. Louis, and the addition of two children to the family, Daisy was with us through a lot.

Here's to the many good years we had:

 Visiting Louisiana Tech for Homecoming several years ago.

Daisy got into a bunch of mischief as a young dog. Our little apartment was just not enough space for her. She learned how to unzip my back pack, and get my cell phone out of it. I caught her chewing on my phone several times, but she never destroyed it. She chewed all the buttons off of one of James' brand new shirts. She thoroughly enjoyed rummaging in the trash. We were surprised to learn that she could reach food from the countertops. I came home from class one day to find that she had destroyed an entire loaf of gourmet bread. That bread was a big splurge for us as far as groceries went too.  She needed a companion.

Daisy with James' parent's dog, Gibby. We had at say goodbye to Gibby a few years ago, but Daisy remembered her. Whenever we were out with her, and we'd see a black lab, Daisy always wanted to go greet the dog.

Daisy was great at catching treats that you tossed up in the air for her, even until the end.

 This was the day we bought our first home in Baton Rouge. Daisy spent the night there with us. We had no furniture there yet, so the three of us slept in the master closet on a blow up mattress.

I was ambitious this particular year, and made Daisy a little cake for her birthday.

Taking a drink from the Koi Fish pond in Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs, AR.

Hanging out in the back yard during one of our crawfish boils.

 Daisy loved Halloween on our street. She would always find a hot dog to eat.

Getting to know our new little baby boy, Samuel.

It was customary for our dogs to get a cupcake on their birthday.

 Samuel always thought Daisy was fascinating. He learned how to say "Daisy" before he learned how to say "Mama." Eva Kate was just now beginning to say Daisy's name. She called her "Day-Day."

 Photos from our outing at the park this past Sunday.

 These are photos from this past weekend.

 Daisy loved to play in the snow.

 Riding in the car was her favorite thing to do, even on her final day.

It was always fun to watch Daisy and Lily play together. They made great companions, although it took a little while for Daisy to warm up to Lily. The first thing Daisy did when we brought Lily home was steal her food. They used to play peek-a-boo with each other around the kitchen island.

Daisy used to carry on whenever we would pray before a meal. It was as if she was trying to pray with us. We would joke that we had a Pentecostal doggie with us.

We took her with us whenever it was possible. She was not content to be left in our apartment when we lived in Little Rock, so if the weather was mild, she rode in the car on our outings. She spent many mornings hanging out in the shade at the student lot at UAMS and at church. We took her camping once, however we forgot her food. She ate well during that trip, lots of sausages and strawberries.

It was a joy and a blessing to have her in our family. Daisy was a beautiful, intelligent, loving, playful creation of God. We're so thankful for the twelve years that God gave us with her.

"All creatures great and small our Lord God made them all." - James Herriot