Wow! Never thought the words to an REO Speedwagon song would have so much meaning for me but the last two weeks have been a roller-coaster of emotions that are just now settling down.
Did you ever have something that you first loved so much and had to let it go for the Right Reasons but it was so painful? I'm sure everyone has and most are so much more serious than what we faced recently, so I in no way am saying our experience far outweighs anyone else.
How can a dog have such an affect on someone. A pet? Unbelievable!
Buffy was our youngest of three golden retrievers. What a special dog she was. Notice past tense. We adopted and rescued her in November of 2009. She adapted well in our home, though our oldest Shelby was always alittle taken aback by her presence. Nonetheless they got along great. Buffy was 4 months old and you know how that goes, chewing, romping, pushing for playtime with her older sisters and pushing for frontrow seats when it came to Momma and Dad's attention or snacking. Oh she was a funny dog.
Buffy was like Lassie on wheels. Her own self imposed jobs? Mind you we didn't teach her these OR make her do them. For Buffy you had better get out of her way and let her do her work!
1. Pick up the bowls of all three dogs and bring them to the sink after eating
2. Herd each dog in from outside for anything that was needed
3. Carry the cover and bring it to me at the bird cages to put them to bed
4. Carry the bird food containers to me at the bird cage to feed them and take the containers back to where they were stored.
5. Carry her own leash
6. And the list goes on...
Buff didn't do tricks persay, but she was a working dog.
So you ask...
"WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH EATING FOR HEALTH?"
Well hang in here with me...
You see Buff formed the 3rd female golden in our home and that is considered a pack. When you have a Pack, someone comes out as the Alpha, or Lead. Buff did that, she took it on and a Strong Alpha she was. After 1 year and 2 months, she began to get aggression in her personality especially towards Shelby our oldest. So in the last month it got very bad and Shelby was a prisoner in her own home to Buffy, or else. We were faced with making a very very hard decision, were we going to allow Buffy to take Shelby likely to her death, or were we going to do what was right and find a good family to raise Buffy with all the love we had for her (probably not someone out there with that kind of love we of course believed :). The choice to find her a new home was quick and over in one day. Our soninlaws friends coincidentally, or not, were dog lovers all their lives, newly married and just bought a home this month with the intention of getting their first dog together. It seemed pretty much meant to be. We announced it Monday morning two weeks ago and Casey and Drew, Buff's new family picked her up that night. We miss her so much but it is for the right reasons we did this. Our love will always be with her and we'll always remember her for the love she gave us, and that she did, kisses and hugs were never held back.
So the stress and pain of this new move we made played much havoc on our lives for several weeks and my stress eating kicked in. I am finally on a recovery and using that energy for positive things, helping me to get back on board with my goal of losing 10 pound in May! I can still do it, there is still time to continue on track!
How did I get through this?
JOURNALING! JOURNALING! AND JOURNALING.
I truly believe this is so therapeutic and good for us to do when anything moves us up or down in life. Love will find a way to heal and it does. Don't give up on YOU and don't beat yourself up over Life's Pressures and Changes.
Dad Hugging Buffy on the night we adopted her
Momma Saying "Goodbye" To Buffy before her new family arrived
Buffy of Sleepy Hollow
I hope this reaches your needs today and Buffy's life story will live on for YOU to gain strength in your journey too.
It's just me, Val Ciao!
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