I knew she wouldn’t last the summer and was beginning to suffer.

But it didn’t make the worst day of owning and loving a dog any easier.

I’ve been here before. The last night  together, the painful final morning, the glimmers of the young dog she once was that make you almost selfishly reconsider your decision.

Almost.

In the end, our love for her won out and we fulfilled the bargain that every pet owner agrees to the first day they bring that soft, fluffy puppy into their home.

It was her time. Goodbye to the sweetest, funniest, goofiest girl I’ve ever known.

This morning I’m left with crushing, uncomfortable silence and an empty pink collar (many actually, she loved her bling) which serve as a reminder of two things that I believe with all my heart:

1. Dogs are angels.

2. We may choose our dogs, but we get the dog we get for a reason, and their brief mission is to teach us something about our ourselves.

I’ll be mulling over point number 2 for a long time, in honor of her memory and the joy she brought to me and my family.

I know that what she came to teach me, whatever it turns out to be, will be something beautiful that makes life worth living.