I’m so sorry that Veya is gone, and I while I’m sure the pain is deep and lasting, I hope that you are able to equally remember the joy she brought to your family. I read an interesting book, The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz, a few months back that had some great passages about dogs (he had just lost his beloved golden retriever). Just wanted to share one with you:

“Dogs’ lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you’re going to lose a dog, and there’s going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can’t support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There’s such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love, while always aware it comes with an unbearable price.”

I know that Veya will be with you on your runs, and at your bedside on those dark, cold mornings, nudging you to get up…and get going!

Who could have known that just a short time after saying goodbye to our Chi, you would be faced with the same terrible decision for your beautiful Veya? We share your pain and many of the same memories as you. From her singing happy birthday for the frame you sent to Hanna to the time her leash slipped from my hand when we were hiking in the Rockies and I almost broke my neck scrambling across the boulders to grab the leash before she realized she was free and took off. Your decision was the right one and the only one you could have made because you loved her so much. She and Chi are running together, free of pain and illness now. I hope your being home with us can help a little. We loved her dearly too.