Our beloved babe

It's been a rough few days. Having to put Tellie down on Friday morning was by far one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Ryan pointed out that her stomach looked huge and swollen and so I called the vet right away and said we were bringing her in. She hadn't eaten hardly anything in 5 days, so I knew it wasn't just a lot of food. She was sick; really sick. I had the girls say goodbye to her before we took her to the vet because I knew deep in me that she wouldn't be coming home with us. That sucked. It was harder than anything. Ellie just laid on Tellie's back and sobbed, saying WHY does Tellie have to die? Why is she sick? I don't want to say goodbye to Tellie! Emma didn't cry at all until we actually walked out the door with her, then she lost it. It was horrible.

Ryan and I took her in and I'm just simply not going to relive the details of that 2 hours. I will never forget it; it's etched in my head so clearly. But saying goodbye was not easy. She stood by us (even though she was miserable) for most of the appointment. When the doc left the room and gave us a few minutes with her before they came back in, Tellie just laid down against the wall. It was like she knew what was about to happen. Hugging her and smooching her was just priceless. But I've never had to say goodbye to a family member, knowing that in exactly 5 min. we would be putting her to sleep. It was weird and eerie and almost cruel. But it wasn't, it was right. She was so sick and only had a few more days to live on her own, if that at all.

I will never forget Tellie. I will never forget our first baby. She was my lifeline that first year of marriage when I was away from home and feeling lonely. I loved playing frisbee with her and running with her. I love that she never had to walk on a leash because she just ALWAYS stuck right by me. I love that she was always on my tail. I loved how good she was when each and every kid came home from the hospital...and throughout their annoying stages when they would just run and climb/jump on her. She was always ok with being the jungle jim. I loved how much she loved the lake. Oh my gosh she would go BONKERS when we would turn on Devils Lake Hwy...she knew we were there. And I love that she would "fish," to no avail, for 8 hours a day when we were up there.

Oh Tell, I'm gonna miss you. You will never be replaced. You will always be my dog. My kids might have a dog someday, but you will always be mine. ;)