Goodbye Sweet Sammi

This is Sammi, my Mom and Dad's dog.  Yesterday in the early morning I got a phone call from my Mom that after a very long night of confusion and strange behavior, they had made the decision to take her to the vet and help her cross the rainbow bridge.  Knowing how difficult this decision was for my mother I knew that if they had come to this decision, it was time.  Sammi had been slowly declining since November in little ways that had become bigger and bigger over time.  The past few times the kids or I came over she hardly acknowledged that someone had come to the house.  She didn't run to greet us as she usually does and her tail didn't even wag in happiness that we had come to see her.  She stared at us blankly like she didn't realize it was us or couldn't see us at all.

Often people say their dog's are like their family and its not that I don't think that in some respects, but I think it sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud so I am not saying that exactly.  What I must say though to sweet Sammi is thank you.  Thank you for the unconditional love you showed my Mother, who spent most of her childhood and teenage years not receiving any love from those who should have been loving her daily.  She never quite recovered from those years of heartache and Sammi helped to heal that part of her.  Sammi joined the family when Henry was barely a year old and she was poked and prodded and pulled on and never once snapped at him or his sister when she tumbled onto the scene.  When Callie took the car keys and tried to "start" Sammi, she just quickly removed herself but never got mad at the kids who were learning boundaries with a pet.  

When Sammi would come to stay with us, while my parents traveled for various reasons, she had her own little routine here at the house and quickly couldn't let me out of her sight even sleeping right next to my bed so I could hang my arm off and pet her as she dozed.  If she couldn't have my Mom, she was comfortable adopting me in Mom's place, until they returned home.

Sammi was nothing but sweet and friendly and loved everyone she met.  Except Galaxy, who upon entering into the "pack", annoyed Sammi to high heaven with her long legs and endless puppy energy.  To an already aging cougar like Sammi, Galaxy was a young, dumb and gangly fool.  Despite this initial animosity, the two learned how to live with each other, learned each other's boundaries and had some lovely nap sessions and hang outs together these past 5 years.

I am not writing this solely for the purpose of a tear jerking trip down memory lane with the family dog, but also because of the compassion my daughter showed this entire weekend, of which she spent half with my Mother.  Callie was devastated by the news that today would be "the day" and cried all through breakfast.  Mom and Dad brought Sammi over to say goodbye to us and tears streamed down she and her brother's faces even after she left us to go to the vet.  Callie decided that she wanted to do something special for her Grammy to make her smile since this was one of the saddest days of her life.  She had a great idea to bake her Grammy a special cake with homemade buttercream frosting in a beautiful blue and to cover it with sprinkles.  It was all Callie's idea and she did almost all the work and delivered a cake, made with love, to her grieving grandmother and they shared it.  It did the job of helping them to find a little cheer on an otherwise heartbreaking day.  Compassion and sympathy can truly help another human being through a very difficult time.  I am so proud of Callie for caring so deeply and loving so unselfishly, especially when I know that her heart was breaking too.  Reaching out to someone who is hurting and offering your thought and support is so very important and well, a little cake doesn't hurt either.