This week, we say goodbye to a very smart dog, family pet & friend, Libby. She had taken ill very suddenly this week and a very difficult decision had to be made. These type of decisions are never easy no matter how many times you have to make them. Over the last 13 years, we've had to put down two other dogs besides Libby. Each one were very hard to deal with. But what made Libby especially hard wasn't that she was a better dog than the other two. It was the fact that this time around, our daughters were very much aware of Libby. 6 years ago when we put our last dog down due to old age, the girls had no idea that she even existed. They only know of her from what we've told them about her and from her pictures. But with Libby, they have played with her, sat with her in their laps and even had Snowball Fights with her over the years! And even though there were times when Libby really didn't want to be bothered by them, she still loved them, and the girls loved her too.
Libby had taken ill a few days ago. We were very much hoping that she would get better, but her condition worsened as the days went on, ultimately leading to our decision yesterday. Even though my thoughts were with Libby as we made the trip to the Vet's office, they were also with our 3 daughters too. They were already upset before we had left for the Vet. The girls did not make the trip with us. We had left them with Amy's parents.
After we had said our final goodbyes to Libby, our thoughts immediately turned to our daughters and how we were going to break the news to them that Libby would not be returning home. Obviously we would spare them all of the details with the exception to why Libby did not make the trip home. We simply told them that Libby was way to sick and had passed once we arrived at the Vet's office. Now, we all know that people deal with death in many different ways. So nothing can really prepare you for how your children deal with it for the first time for the simple fact that you just don't really know. The only thing you can do is guess about who will take the news the hardest and who will need the most consoling once the news is broke.
Of coarse, Amy and I both thought that Hope would take the news the hardest simply because she is a very big animal lover. We just kinda knew that she would be the one we would have to console the most. We thought Faith would be next because she really gets emotional a lot of times, even over some of the most simple of things. Charity we thought would be the toughest of the three and react like it didn't really bother her at all. Well, we were correct about Hope. In fact, she was still very much affected by it today. Charity, however, surprised us. She was the next most emotional of the three, and yes, she too was having a hard time with it today as well. The toughest of the three ended up being Faith, believe it or not! She did get a little emotional at first, although very briefly, but turned and asked when we could get another dog! Yep, she was suggesting dog breeds, sizes, the whole shot! You would think that after 7 years of dealing with these three that we would be a little better at judging what their emotional state would be after something like this! But, over and over, they never make it easy on us and always keep us guessing! With them, even when you think it will be one way, they change it up on you and do a total 360!
Bottom line though, we are a household full of animal lovers. It amazes me that there are people out there who can put an animal down that has been a part of their life for years and just not be affected by it. To them, that dog or cat or whatever animal they put down, was just that. An animal. And no matter what that's always the way it will be to them. But for people like us, we bring our animals into our homes and they immediately become a part of our lives and a part of our family. From the Dogs, to the Ferrets, to the Chickens out in the backyard. Our animals are a huge part of who and what this family is. So every time we have to put one down, or one passes away, there will always be tears and hard goodbyes. And this week, we say goodbye to Libby.
R.I.P Libby. You will be missed.
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