My Best Friend

Our family has suffered a major loss. This little guy has been with us for 15 years, pretty much all of his life. He has always been small at 15 lbs, but with big personality. He and Finn Sisu have been so very close.

A couple of weeks ago JJ had a bad episode of fluid in his lungs as a result of heart disease. He spent the night in the animal hospital and was much better when he came home, but not even fully recovered. We did everything we could for him the next few days-helping him rest, getting his medicine in him and trying to feed him every few hours. Unfortunately he would not eat and did not recover. You know the rest of the story.

It has been a week since he has gone and our life is still discombobulated. It is so odd to not have to go outside before bed, always watch where you walk, or worry about every crumb that falls on the floor. Yes, he was old and had heart problems. We knew this day would come, but there is a great disconnect between what the intellect understands and what the heart feels.

I suppose this period of grief is the price we pay for those 15 years of affection and laughter. We have many wonderful memories and stories to tell. We have met many wonderful friends by sharing our love of this breed and by doing rescue for several years. If you have never experienced the unconditional love and faith of a four legged friend you are really missing out.

We will recover, but for the time being we are missing the big personality that was JJ.