1 day later

I guess we always knew, when we adopted King, that we only had so much time with him. He was old when we adopted him but we didn't care. We fell in love with him & knew he was the one to complete our family. He was about 10 years old (not sure exactly) when we adopted him over a year ago, so now he would've been around 11.

When we adopted King, the rescue group's listing called him a Collie/Chow/Keeshund mix. Upon researching all these breeds, we believe he looks most like the pictures we've seen of Keeshunds. A vet he saw about 6 weeks ago leaned more toward calling him a Chow, but the truth is, he was a mixed breed. We don't really care what he was though...he was precious & truely changed the lives of my kids.

You see, Sarah was terrified of ALL dogs before King came into our lives. After falling in love with King, she's grown past her fears.

Samuel was less scared than Sarah & more skiddish/nervous around them. After meeting King & caring for him these past 15-ish months, he is 100% comfortable around all dogs.

And our sweet Savannah fell deeper for King than probably any of the rest of us. You see, when we had our last dog (Coco, a lab), it was her face that Coco bit. After that night of going to the ER for stitches, we got rid of Coco. I think Savannah always felt "responsible" for having to get rid of Coco and there was a hole in her heart (because she really loved Coco!). When King came along and we brought him home, she was head over heels in love before she went to bed the first night.

In the past year (give or take), King has blessed us with his sweet, sweet, sweet dimeanor. He was gentle & kind. He barked about once a month (seriously), never ran, never jumped. He went camping with us and rode to the schools to pick up the kids in the afternoons with me. We'll never forget the day that he hopped out of the van when the door opened for the kids to get in. Thankfully he didn't go anywhere...he just wanted to see what all those kids were doing! :) He's been for more walks than I can count and has touched all our hearts with his sweet nature. EVERY child in the neighbhorhood loved King & they're equally crushed about his death.

Today was easier than yesterday & I know tomorrow will be easier than today. One way or the other, we're going to get through this and come out better on the other side. We are blessed for having known King at all.

Thank you for all the sweet emails & comments here and on Facebook.