Goodbye Tessy

Sunday we had to say goodbye to Tessy. Wednesday she started showing signs of pain (shaking, not jumping) but we assumed it was a sprain or a sore muscle. I was giving her Andrea's ibuprofen and that seemed to help but by Sunday she could hardly stand. When we called the vet he figured it was her back, and Ryan and I can only assume she might have fallen down the deck stairs while going potty. By Sunday afternoon her pain was so bad that we both knew we should end her misery.

 I wanted to give her all her favorite foods but she couldn't even stand to eat them. We had to carry her in her bed to the truck and of course then she got excited to go for a ride and did all she could to stand and look out the windows.

Ryan couldn't stay in the room while the doctor gave her the shot, it was his doggy after all, he was the one who wanted her and babied her. I, however, didn't want her to be alone while she passed, so I held her until the end.

It's still tough... I cried when I saw her footprints in the snow, I cried when I put Andrea' ibuprofen away, I cried when I was making tuna for Andrea and no doggy paws came running. She was a great dog, and mine and Ryan's first baby. Some things to remember about Tessy:

She never barked, only when dreaming would we hear an attempt at a bark.

She loved to play hide and seek with us. It always seemed to be Sundays after church that either Ryan and I would wait to open the kennel while the other one hid. She was always so excited to run up those stairs and search for us.

She got fed 4 times a day and she could tell time better than any of us. When it got to be feeding time she would crawl out of bed and start nudging our hands with her nose.

She was a cuddler, when she saw a blanket on the couch she took that as permission to come snuggle.

She loved her ears rubbed, she would moan and tilt her head.

She was obsessed with tuna, anytime we opened ANY can she would run to the kitchen hoping she got to lick the tuna can.

She never played with toys... she couldn't care less if you threw a ball her way or waved a dog toy in front of her she was too refined for that kind of thing!

She would sneak in Andrea's room and jump up on her bed during the day.

She would steal food from Bracken and Andrea when they got distracted.

We love you Tessy and you will ALWAYS be in our hearts! You blessed us with your joy for 7 out of the 9 years of your life and I hope we made your life a good one.

Christmas Fun

We actually made it to see the Temple Square Christmas lights this year! I thought going on a week night would be less crazy so we decided to go last Wednesday. I think there really is no good time to go... not only was it the youth groups activity that night, but we also saw 3 school buses who unloaded even more teenagers for some kind of performance.

I could go into all the details of the night but let's just say that between no parking, two trips back to the car, inconvenient bladder needs from Andrea, too many teenagers, and it being REALLY cold... it will be a while before we do it again. Ryan got some really beautiful pictures of the temple that I'm excited to print and frame.

Andrea was more impressed by the releasing of birthday balloons through the skylight while having dinner at the Garden than she actually was with the lights, so I think we'll wait for HER to ask us to go again.

Later that week Andrea and I got into the Christmas spirit by decorating a gingerbread house. Now I am not one to make home made gingerbread, cut it, make frosting no no no. Costco had a pre-build one with candy and frosting included. That's my kind of project!

Andrea ate more candy than she actually put on but she really did a good job when she did actually place them on the house.