Our Sweet Puppy Girl

Dear God,


How to even start a prayer when your heart is so heavy? The only way to remedy the sadness is to remember the joyful moments and be thankful we were blessed with a little golden retriever 11 years ago.


Thank you, God, for allowing our family to have the joy of raising our sweet girl. Even when she chewed up our carpet, had accidents in the house, or when she would famously run around the yard with the newspaper in her mouth.  We loved her even more.
Thank you for the sneaky puppy who would come around the corner with a pair of socks in her mouth, just waiting to be chased. Thank you for a dog who loved adventure; hiking, jogging, swimming, boating and even riding the jet ski.  
Thank you for the way she would come over and rest her head in our laps. She sure had a keen sense of our emotions. Thank you for teaching us not to take life too seriously through her. We learned to laugh when she jumped up on the counter and eat our entire plate of raviolis, or decided to roll around in the horse corral up at grandma's house.
Thank you for giving each of the four of us a best friend in our dog. And a different type of best friend to each.  Amazing how one little furry ball of golden locks can be so touching, loyal, and loving to each of us in different ways.
Thank you for the way she would run to the door when I'd come home from college, the way she'd stick by my side the whole night, and the way she'd guard the door when she knew it was time for me to leave again.
Thank you for her cute little black nose, so curious and sniffing everywhere...especially on Christmas. She knew we put something in her stocking each year.
Thank you for the time we got to spend with Shasta even after we found out her diagnosis. Thank you for letting us tell her what we love about her and that she's the best dog we could have ever asked for. She brought our family together, that little golden, and made us appreciate Your creations even more, God.  Thank you for her sweet soul, for giving my 10 year old self a secret keeper and best friend, thank you for the way she so innately cared about people, and thank you for those velvety soft ears. I will never forget them.


More than anything, though, thank you for blessing us with a dog who taught us how to love better, with no bounds. Help me always remember that.


I pray that she makes new friends in doggie heaven, because God, believing she's in dog heaven is the only thing getting me through this day. Thank you for loving her as much as we did and for loving us enough to gift us with her.


As her brown eyes looked up at me last night, we knew.  We just had a mutual understanding. She knew she would always have a special place in my heart. I knew I would have one in hers, too. She's my girl. She knows how much she was loved, and no one can ever take the bond between our family and our sweet girl away, that's for certain.


In Jesus Name, Amen.

We love you to the moon and back, precious girl.
Love,