I haven't written since the beginning of December but to keep with my random updates I'll update now.

I had a dog named Tasha since I was 10 years old. We got her when she was a 1.5 years old from the local animal shelter. They were going to put her down the following day because 'no one wanted her'. She was my buddy through my childhood years and my comfort. Since I got her and until I began going to college when I was 18 she slept in my room and was very protective of me. She was the first dog and only dog I have ever had.

Last year she became ill due to lyme disease. We treated the condition and she got better but this fall she began getting ill again. She lost her balance, had trouble standing, sitting, and walking. In fact, she never sat. She either stood or laid on her side. She began having issues eating food and keeping it down. These past few days it was a matter of her eating some food then throwing it up every time a couple of hours later.

Yesterday she had a slip and fall on the ice outside of our house and never tried to stand back up (which she always tried). My mother brought her in and Tasha still would not stand. She laid painfully on her side, refusing food, and I told my mother that Tasha needed to go to the vet and we would more then likely have to put her down.

Only once during the course of the six hours that we waited for her emergency appointment did Tasha get up and it was while my mother and I were talking in my room- the only time one of us was not by her. She wandered her way in and we found her then brought her back to the fireplace and laid her down.

We brought her to the vet and they discovered that she had bleeding tumors in her stomach. Her kidneys had shrunken up and were almost of no use. It was to the point that we either put her down or take her home and face the possibility of her being in very much pain before she'd finally passed. We opted to put her down so that she wouldn't have to be in more pain at all in the future.

She was two months shy of her 14th birthday, her breed normally lives about 9 years, and I like to think she lived a very long and happy life. I miss her greatly. There is certainly a void in our house and it's hard to shake. So rest in peace my puppy dog, I miss and love you.