Goodbye Maddy

Last week was hard. On top of all of my other stress, we had to put our precious dog Maddy to sleep on Friday. Maddy was nearly 15 years old. I got her when I was in college. 1995. Maddy had been struggling lately. She went deaf about 2 years ago. She also went blind gradually but had pretty much got to the point of not being able to see at all. She had been falling alot and was not able to get up. She was a very healthy dog over the course of her life but age had caught up with her and we felt it was best to make sure she was not in pain anymore. It was incredibly hard. I miss her so much. I miss hearing her little feet walk around the kitchen floor looking for crumbs. Sophie (our other dog) misses her too. We all do. But we know that she is in a better place now. A place without pain. We are left with the wonderful memories she gave to us. She is the best dog we have ever had, by far. She's been everywhere with us, through our entire married life. 3 cross country moves. My constant companion when we had no family around and Shaun worked long hours and many nights away from home. She was my snuggle bug.

Maddy right after I got her. She was a Christmas present from my parents after my childhood dog passed away.

Merry Christmas to me!
She was so tiny and was the cutest puppy I'd ever seen

She was so small that I gave her baths in the bathroom sink

She didn't think she was so small. Here she is chasing my brother's dog in the backyard (he was about 20 times the size of her)

They were buddies

We knew from the start that she loved food. My mom picked her out because she looked "healthy"

She loved ice cream

And climbing into the dishwasher

She thought Shaun's textbooks were boring.

She was adorable

She loved being next to us. On the couch, in our bed, wherever we were that's where she wanted to be.

She loved Shaun

She liked having her picture taken

She loved tennis balls

and snuggles

She had crazy hair

She looked about 20 pounds heavier when she hadn't had a haircut

She could almost swallow a tennis ball

She rode in the car like this....from Chicago to Atlanta

She stuck her tongue out alot

She was in our Christmas card photos

She got into anything that had food near it. This is what she did to some things in Shaun's backpack because they smelt like gum.

She loved to empty the bathroom trash can. Every time we left the house and forgot to shut the door. We have no idea how she got some of the things out (see the water bottle?)

She got a loaf of bread off the kitchen counter and ate the entire thing. She looked like she was pregnant with 10 puppies when we got home.

This is her cute face when she was begging for food

Shaun taught her some neat tricks (like keeping popcorn on her nose til he told her to get it)

She dressed up like Wonder Woman for our 80's Halloween party

She drove from Baltimore to Cleveland with Sophie driving apparently

She was loved.

She left us on Friday. Our vet came to the house instead of us taking her in to the office because she hated the vet's office more than anything. It was so hard to say goodbye to her but peaceful. We gave her kisses and pet her and she passed away in our arms. We've known it was coming for a long time but actually having to do it was painful. I wouldn't trade the pain for any of the wonderful memories we have of her and the incredible joy she brought us for nearly 15 years.

Goodbye sweet Maddy. Thanks for being the most awesome dog that we've ever known.