A Sad Anniversary

This week was the one year anniversary of our saying goodbye to our precious dog Tobey.

Tobey was a soft coated wheaten terrier. We had him for 6 years, and he made us very happy. Sadly he became extremely ill, and after taking him to his vet, an animal hospital, a specialist who did a sonogram and x-rays, no one could figure out what was wrong with him. Exploratory surgery to try and figure out why he was in so much pain would have cost upwards of $5,000, and we just couldn't afford it. My daughter was starting college, and I was getting ready to lose my job. We tried medication, painkillers, everything, but finally had to make the extremely difficult decision to end his misery. It was terrible for us, especially for my daughter, because Tobey was the Christmas/birthday present she'd asked for since she was 3 years old. But watching him suffer was much harder, and it would have been selfish to continue allowing him to live in pain.

We still think of Tobey fondly. Every once in a while we're reminded of him, and we smile. That's what pets do for us. They love us unconditionally, and try their best to make us happy. There's a lot to be learned from them.