btw, guys, "Dog RIP" threads are the male equivalent of the women getting together and drinking wine (or online) and affirming the ever-loving shit out of each other for the wonderfulness of being moms, or their bad male choices.
We lost a member of our family today as our beautiful white lab named Gemma succumbed to a short battle with liver disease. She was 9 years old.
She was our first born coming into our lives prior to our two children. I felt compelled to let people know what a true joy she was. An old soul that was friends with everyone she met. I have never met a dog so sweet, gentle and loving. She was a 60lb lap dog who with one lick could make you feel better in an instant.
When the wife and kids would be getting ready for bed, she would lay next to me in the office while I worked, or watched the game, or jacked around on AW with you all. Sometimes I'd fart and blame on her. Sometimes she'd fart and I'd get blamed. She would lay there until I went up to bed and then she'd follow me up.
She rarely if ever made a sound. No barking or snarling. She was energetic but not spastic. She didn't chew the furniture or knock people over. Just extreme tail wagging that shook her entire back side followed by a couple of licks.
We used to walk her off leash and she'd just cruise along next to us. We would leave our plates with food on our coffee table as we ate and watched tv and she never touched them. She wanted nothing from us but to be in the same room.
She shed like nothing I have ever seen but had the softest coat. Sunday afternoon floor naps with her as my pillow were the best.
Making the choice to end her suffering and watching her pass was probably one of the toughest things I have ever experienced.
My condolences to anyone that has been through that or the loss of a pet in any way.
But the main thing I wanted to say was thank you. Thank you so much for being part of our lives. Even though we feel like we got short changed we couldn't have asked for a more amazing and selfless companion. We will always love you and we will never forget you.