Misty was a brown Lab and Akita mix who was spunky and full of energy, but also calm and a great family dog. Aaron got her from a neighbor when he was still living with his friend Chris. Chris and Aaron both adopted dogs that summer, Misty and her sister Kaycee. I was 12 when they adopted her, and they got her while I was away at camp. Misty will always be Aaron's dog, but she became a loved part of our family. We all took care of her from the time she was born and she grew to love us all.
When mom had Becca we were worried about how Misty would act. She was always jealous and protective, she didn't really like other dogs being around us and would find any way to get attention. We had no reason to worry though, Becca was part of our family and Misty understood that. She became just as protective of Becky as any of us. The same when mom had Alex. She was a great dog to have around children. Recently Becky learned the joys of having pets and instead of invisible friends, she had her animals. She would take the cat and dog and lock them in her room to play with them. Misty was always calm and understanding, even when Becky was bouncing up and down on her back like a horse. Very rarely would Misty growl or snarl at either of the babies.
Misty loved her daddy and knew when he was gone for work. The days Aaron would leave for training would leave Misty sad and mopey. She's give up her usual spot under the window to lay against the door waiting for her owner to come home. I remember the day he left for Spain, she knew he was leaving and before he walked out the door she came over and hugged him. It was the cutest, most adorable thing you could ever see.
Last fall Misty developed cancer. Determined to save her we had the tumors removed from her stomach. We knew there was a chance they would come back, but we hoped that it was the end of it. Unfortunetly, it wasn't. About two weeks ago mom noticed two more lumps on her hind legs. We knew it wasn't a good sign, but figured we'd leave it, knowing we couldn't afford to remove them again. Last Friday mom came home to find Misty in a state of discomfort. She had been sick throughout the house in an attempt to get outside. She had eaten that morning but thrown it up and refused to eat again. Sunday morning we were able to get her to eat again, but she got sick an hour later. As pet owners it was hard to watch our cherished pet suffer all weekend. We couldn't take her to a vet, but they did tell us how to care for her. We can only hope the Benedryl and Pepcid AC helped to ease her pain in her last few days. Monday mom and Aaron took her to the vet, not sure what to expect. It was worse than we could have imagined. The vet explained that the cancer was back. She was suffering from Mastoma cell cancer which was eating her stomach. The vet explained that the tumors we saw were only part of it, and that based on their size the ones inside must be worse.
It was decided that what was best was to put her out of her misery. Monday afternoon around 5pm we set Misty to her final resting place. Mom and Aaron decided on a private cremation, which means we will receive her ashes back. Misty's remains will be taken to Aaron's parent's house about an 1 1/2 north of our house.
It's been weird not having her around. Anytime I use the ice machine I think of her. She was always at your feet the moment you pressed the button and gobbled up any dropped cubes. Although at times I found her annoying, I miss her. I never expected to feel so attached to her. I miss the feeling of protection of knowing Misty was there.
Our family will always have great memories of our puppy. But now she's playing happily without pain, she's up there with Corissa's dog Indy and the Legros' recently lost Darla. They're all playing happily together.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment