Exit Stage Left

We decided to get a puppy eleven years ago - a somewhat obscure breed known as the Flatcoated Retriever. My DH wanted a male and I (being the only woman in a house of men) wanted a female. When the litter came it was only one puppy, a female. The deal was sealed when she fell asleep in his arms. I finally had my "daughter".

We called her Echo after a Rush album titled "Test for Echo". I'd wax poetic about her cute habits or even about how she was the bestest dog in the whole dang world but if you're reading this and have a dog yourself, you'll know that's bullshit because your dog is the best in the world.

These pictures were taken just at the exact last moment in time before my little boys suddenly became men. From the time they were six years old until now, she's been my "wing girl" watching over Butch and Sundance with all the patience in the world. She never knew a world that didn't include having peanut butter and jam in her ear hair from sticky little fingers.

Yesterday started like any other day and ended with a frantic search for a vet not experiencing a power outage as the years finally caught up with our sweet pet. We were there for her when she needed us to do right by her. No regrets.

Unplanned holes suck. In our knitting and in our lives. As the old saying goes - I truly hope to someday become the person my dog thinks I am.