Saying Goodbye

As I sit here in our new home it hasn't set in yet. It's surreal this is now our home. Kyle and I both shed quite a few tears on the last day of the move. As we stood looking around our first home together, we realized it had become just a house. Everything that made it a home was in the form of memories that we were taking with us. I just hope someone who loves it as much as we do will come along and buy it and take very good care of it too.

On Saturday morning I met my parents for breakfast. They planned on coming down to the house to continue helping us unpack. They were going to run by their house and pick up a few things before coming to ours. I walked in the house and my phone rang. I picked it up and knew within a second something was wrong. My mom said Walley and I knew he was gone. I started yelling no and handed the phone to Kyle. There was no way. He wasn't gone. I didn't get to say goodbye.My parents were talking about how he was running around the backyard with our other dog that very morning. He was laying on his bed. His heart must have stopped. Walley Hooch didn't come without surprises in his life. He arrived in our arms the summer of '99 just before I left for college. Just a few years into his life he had to have life saving surgery to remove 17 inches of his small intestine, 7 inches of his large intestine, and half of his stomach because a piece of a dog toy that was stuck in his abdomen. My dad spent weeks at home nursing Walley back to health. Years later his love of chewing cost him another surgery for nearly the same thing. Fortunately the next object of his desire, a washcloth, didn't get as far and there was minimal damage. The thousands of dollars spent on this free puppy was worth it all.He was beautiful, sweet, and I know he was always listening when I talked to him. I went by my parents house for the first time today and sat beside his grave. I talked to him and I know he was still listening. It still doesn't seem real. If he had been sick or so very old, I could accept it easier. The past few weeks I would come home and immediately go to Walley to be sure he was ok. It was as if I knew the day would be coming. I loved that dog so very much and always will. I just wish I could have spent one more day with him. If I had only known, I would have loved on him till the last moments of his life. Our animals mean the world to us. They each hold a piece of our heart.Eleven years isn't long enough to love...wishing I had one more day