Thank you for the well wishes. It is nice to have people understand. Understand that Skye was more than just a pet to me, she was my family...my baby. I miss her so much. My house feels so empty without her. I would give anything to give her a belly rub right now.
A few of you asked for me to share how Skye became a part of my life. Well, here goes.
At the end of February 2000 I saw an ad for some puppies that were ready to leave thier momma. My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I had sort of discussed getting a dog one day (we both had a dog growing up), but we werent completely serious as we lived in a condo. However when I saw the ad I just felt an urge to have a puppy right then. So we called the number in the ad and made an appointment to go and "see" the puppies. Just see them Darin said. Ya right, who can resist a bunch of puppies.
When we arrived at the place the lady let us in to her giant kitchen. In one corner was a pen set up. The lady also had 3 dogs. An Old English Sheepdog (the momma), a Malmute (the daddy) and a Great Dane. The lady said that the puppies were just in the living room, but she would bring them into the pen for us to see them. There were 5 in total.
The lady's husband started bringing the puppies in and putting them in the pen. The lady told me I could get in with them. I said okay stepped in. As soon as I did, Momma dog did to. She was in no way aggressive, she was just checking me out making sure I wasnt going to hurt her puppies. She was the perfect amount of protectiveness. There were 3 black puppies and one white one. He was such a roly poly guy. Oh how I loved him. I told Darin that I wanted him...he kinda shrugged and said he wasnt sure. Just then the man walked in with the last Puppy. Darin took one look at her and said "Thats my dog, I want that one". He would not budge on it. He wanted that one. The lady said to us "I need to warn you, she is the runt of the litter". Darin didnt care, he wanted to bring her home. I said okay fine. We let Momma dog say goodbye and off we went. We hmm and haw'd all the way home for a name. Suddenly Darin said "Skye" Her eyes match the colour of the Sky right now, lets call her that. That first night we lay down papers, blocked the kitchen door and plunked her down. After all the "experts" say she needed to stay thier to sleep. She cried, and cried...and I slept in the kitchen with her. Second night...again we play down papers and blocked the kitchen door. The next morning I woke up to her wrapped around Darin's neck sound asleep...and in our bed she stayed for 4yrs. It wasnt until I got very pregnant that she stopped sleeping with us...thier was no more room in the bed.
That is how Skye came to live with us....but it is not the end of her story.
Skye looked like a little lab puppy when she was little. She was so cute, but she was fiesty and had a good healthy dose of Husky stubborness. WOWZERS. I remember calling Darin 2wks after we got her and said "Get this freaking dog out of my house, I dont like her, she is a nasty dog". That was the day that she snarled and attacked my face (didnt get me) because she was chewing on the lamp cord. BUT, she grew up. She matured...she was still stubborn, but learned the art of being aloof and ignoring, rather than snarling.
We moved out of our condo and into a townhouse shortly after we got her. Trying to potty train a puppy when you live on the second floor of a condo building is not easy work. There were a lot of running down the halls with a puppy in my arms and her tail tucked. Once we moved she was instantly trained. She was also a great dog for listening when out an about. She loved to hike and would go for hours...never straying far ahead of us.
Darin and I got married when she was a year and a half. We went to Hawaii for a week and missed her like crazy. Seriously, how can you miss a dog when your in HAWAII??! We did. We kept saying how much fun she would have had in the rain forest, on the beaches, on the hikes. I was so excited to get home and see her. Just as the snow started to fall before her second birthday Skye tore the ligaments in her knee. She stepped into a hole on one of our hikes. We took her to the vets, a specialized one. The charged us a fortune and in the end we opted not to do the surgery they wanted to do on her...in fact we opted out of both surgery options. They could not answer any of our questions satisfactorily. So I did some research, got some good Chondrotin, glucosamine, and treated her myself. I am happy to say that my girl healed and was able to run and play right up until the end. Sure she had some arthritis, but no more than she would have had, had she had the surgery.
Skye has moved with us many times, welcomed into her family 2 kids and 2 cats. She has had a best friend (Hana, a Bernese Mountain Dog) and lost that best friend (and now is back with her again, running free).
Skye was a dominant dog, who liked to be on top always....but thought the world of her "daddy". She was a dog who was "naturally" trained. We put little effort into training her, as she did as we asked always.
She was a diabetic. She made me work, but work I did. There was no way I was losing my girl to that damned disease.
She was my baby. Saturday morning when I called the vet, they were so great. They fit me right in. When we arrived they took us right into a room, no waiting. My vet came in right away. She looked Skye over, petted her, loved her. They gave her a sedative. I got Skye to lie down, she finally relaxed and stopped panting. I sat down beside her and she put her paw in my lap. Her way of asking to be petted. I pet her, I rubbed her, I talked to her, I cried over her. I whispered in her ear how much I loved her, I kissed her....I kissed her over and over again. Telling her what a great dog she was.
The vet came back into the room and asked us if we were ready. I said yes. She did her thing, and sat with us. Holding my hand and petting Skye. Telling her what a sweet and gentle soul she was. She sat with us for 10 min. Told us to take our time. We stayed for another 15 min. I didnt want to leave her. Darin started to cover her with the blanket, and I wouldnt let him. I could not bear to have her head covered...it was bad enough I had to leave her.
I picked up her ashes yesterday. I feel more at peace today knowing that she is back home. She was a homebody. She was happiest at home with her family. It is where she belongs.
I miss her terribly. So so much. I promised her a long time ago that I would not let her suffer because I wasnt ready to say goodbye. I kept my promise. I was so NOT ready to say goodbye, but I did because she was ready. It was her time.
I love you so much Skye. Wear your wings proud. Wait for me and we will cross that Bridge together.
January 14th 2000-July 2nd 2011 RIP.
A few of you asked for me to share how Skye became a part of my life. Well, here goes.
At the end of February 2000 I saw an ad for some puppies that were ready to leave thier momma. My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I had sort of discussed getting a dog one day (we both had a dog growing up), but we werent completely serious as we lived in a condo. However when I saw the ad I just felt an urge to have a puppy right then. So we called the number in the ad and made an appointment to go and "see" the puppies. Just see them Darin said. Ya right, who can resist a bunch of puppies.
When we arrived at the place the lady let us in to her giant kitchen. In one corner was a pen set up. The lady also had 3 dogs. An Old English Sheepdog (the momma), a Malmute (the daddy) and a Great Dane. The lady said that the puppies were just in the living room, but she would bring them into the pen for us to see them. There were 5 in total.
The lady's husband started bringing the puppies in and putting them in the pen. The lady told me I could get in with them. I said okay stepped in. As soon as I did, Momma dog did to. She was in no way aggressive, she was just checking me out making sure I wasnt going to hurt her puppies. She was the perfect amount of protectiveness. There were 3 black puppies and one white one. He was such a roly poly guy. Oh how I loved him. I told Darin that I wanted him...he kinda shrugged and said he wasnt sure. Just then the man walked in with the last Puppy. Darin took one look at her and said "Thats my dog, I want that one". He would not budge on it. He wanted that one. The lady said to us "I need to warn you, she is the runt of the litter". Darin didnt care, he wanted to bring her home. I said okay fine. We let Momma dog say goodbye and off we went. We hmm and haw'd all the way home for a name. Suddenly Darin said "Skye" Her eyes match the colour of the Sky right now, lets call her that. That first night we lay down papers, blocked the kitchen door and plunked her down. After all the "experts" say she needed to stay thier to sleep. She cried, and cried...and I slept in the kitchen with her. Second night...again we play down papers and blocked the kitchen door. The next morning I woke up to her wrapped around Darin's neck sound asleep...and in our bed she stayed for 4yrs. It wasnt until I got very pregnant that she stopped sleeping with us...thier was no more room in the bed.
That is how Skye came to live with us....but it is not the end of her story.
Skye looked like a little lab puppy when she was little. She was so cute, but she was fiesty and had a good healthy dose of Husky stubborness. WOWZERS. I remember calling Darin 2wks after we got her and said "Get this freaking dog out of my house, I dont like her, she is a nasty dog". That was the day that she snarled and attacked my face (didnt get me) because she was chewing on the lamp cord. BUT, she grew up. She matured...she was still stubborn, but learned the art of being aloof and ignoring, rather than snarling.
We moved out of our condo and into a townhouse shortly after we got her. Trying to potty train a puppy when you live on the second floor of a condo building is not easy work. There were a lot of running down the halls with a puppy in my arms and her tail tucked. Once we moved she was instantly trained. She was also a great dog for listening when out an about. She loved to hike and would go for hours...never straying far ahead of us.
Darin and I got married when she was a year and a half. We went to Hawaii for a week and missed her like crazy. Seriously, how can you miss a dog when your in HAWAII??! We did. We kept saying how much fun she would have had in the rain forest, on the beaches, on the hikes. I was so excited to get home and see her. Just as the snow started to fall before her second birthday Skye tore the ligaments in her knee. She stepped into a hole on one of our hikes. We took her to the vets, a specialized one. The charged us a fortune and in the end we opted not to do the surgery they wanted to do on her...in fact we opted out of both surgery options. They could not answer any of our questions satisfactorily. So I did some research, got some good Chondrotin, glucosamine, and treated her myself. I am happy to say that my girl healed and was able to run and play right up until the end. Sure she had some arthritis, but no more than she would have had, had she had the surgery.
Skye has moved with us many times, welcomed into her family 2 kids and 2 cats. She has had a best friend (Hana, a Bernese Mountain Dog) and lost that best friend (and now is back with her again, running free).
Skye was a dominant dog, who liked to be on top always....but thought the world of her "daddy". She was a dog who was "naturally" trained. We put little effort into training her, as she did as we asked always.
She was a diabetic. She made me work, but work I did. There was no way I was losing my girl to that damned disease.
She was my baby. Saturday morning when I called the vet, they were so great. They fit me right in. When we arrived they took us right into a room, no waiting. My vet came in right away. She looked Skye over, petted her, loved her. They gave her a sedative. I got Skye to lie down, she finally relaxed and stopped panting. I sat down beside her and she put her paw in my lap. Her way of asking to be petted. I pet her, I rubbed her, I talked to her, I cried over her. I whispered in her ear how much I loved her, I kissed her....I kissed her over and over again. Telling her what a great dog she was.
The vet came back into the room and asked us if we were ready. I said yes. She did her thing, and sat with us. Holding my hand and petting Skye. Telling her what a sweet and gentle soul she was. She sat with us for 10 min. Told us to take our time. We stayed for another 15 min. I didnt want to leave her. Darin started to cover her with the blanket, and I wouldnt let him. I could not bear to have her head covered...it was bad enough I had to leave her.
I picked up her ashes yesterday. I feel more at peace today knowing that she is back home. She was a homebody. She was happiest at home with her family. It is where she belongs.
I miss her terribly. So so much. I promised her a long time ago that I would not let her suffer because I wasnt ready to say goodbye. I kept my promise. I was so NOT ready to say goodbye, but I did because she was ready. It was her time.
I love you so much Skye. Wear your wings proud. Wait for me and we will cross that Bridge together.
January 14th 2000-July 2nd 2011 RIP.
