So Long, Brown-Eyed Girl

It's been a pretty sad weekend in the Whitewater household, as we had to say good-bye to our smallest family member, our 8 year-old lab mix, Shanti. My husband rescued Shanti from the pound when she was about seven months old, and she's been with us every since. We actually adopted her the week before we moved into our current house, so to not have her here is going to be a huge adjustment for us.

We're not really sure what happened - I came home Friday afternoon to find that she'd had an accident in the house (which NEVER happens), and she was extremely lethargic. We made a rush trip to the vet's office and were told she had some type of infection and that "something" was attacking and destroying her red blood cells...a life-threatening situation. After some of shots, instructions to keep her fed and hydrated, a couple of bottles of antibiotics, and instructions to have her back at the office first thing Monday morning for a transfusion, we headed home. She was lethargic, but functional Friday night, but by Saturday morning, it was obvious her condition was deteriorating quickly. She would't eat or drink, and she didn't have the strength to get up and move about. Needless to say, it was a long, heartbreaking day, and despite our best attempts to keep her going until Monday, we lost her that evening.

I'm usually annoyed with people who treat their pets like children (or often better than their children), and we didn't treat Shanti that way. She was our beloved pet - a member of our family- and we loved her as such. Despite her large size, she was an indoor dog and we took her with us whenever we could. She had a darling, sweet, loving, gentle disposition that I cannot imagine ever finding in another creature - or in another human to be quite honest. The little beast was able to turn even my cold, cynical, sarcastic heart to mush over the past few years. She loved us completely, totally, and unconditionally.

They don't write obituaries for dogs, but maybe they should. In any case, this is my blog, and I think she deserves at least a paragraph or two...

Shanti Alan Whitewater

2003-2012

Shanti was the very beloved pet of the Whitewater family. Adopted from the pound at less than a year old, she lived with her people all her life, chasing squirrels and digging holes in the backyard. Shanti was loved by everyone who met her - at the soccer games, kids flocked to her to rub her ears or to feed her Twinkies. When children came over to play, she was happy to indulge them in a game of tug-of-war, or to show-off her array of fabulous tricks. She helped in the kitchen by cleaning-up all the leftovers, and she served as "guard dog" for the home when Clint was working overnights. She even accompanied me to school several evenings when I was afraid to be there alone...although I had to lure her up and back down the stairs with treats! Shanti loved to go to the lake, camping with her family, walking around the neighborhood, and riding in the Jeep with the top down and her tongue flopping about. She greeted everyone at the door with a friendly body-wag (it was impossible for her to JUST wag her tail), and she even managed to capture the heart of the neighborhood mailman.

Shanti was the mother of 27 puppies, protector and friend to Dylan and Dawson, and the brown-eyed baby girl for Clint and myself. The last thing she did completely on her own was to follow us to bed Friday evening so that she could spend one last night by our side. We shared eight precious years with her, and our lives are better for having had her with us.

So, it's time to say so long to my brown-eyed girl. You have taken a huge piece of hearts with you, and our lives won't be the same without you. I hope you are somewhere in Heaven chowing on a gigantic chew bone and tormenting those pesky squirrels who annoyed you so much. We love you and will miss you always.