A Blog about a Dog

Today has been one of the hardest days I've had in a very long time. I got a phone call around 6pm from my parents telling me that my dog Nala was at the vet and having a hard time breathing. Through some x-rays the vet discovered that my dog had congestive heart failure and only had a few weeks left to live. After taking her home my mom noticed that she was only getting worse and was suffering really bad. Before they had a chance to take her back to the vet she was gone. I can honestly say that this little dog was a part of our family. We've raised her since she was a puppy and have all become really attached to her.

Her life began on a cool April night in 1995. We had wondered for a while if our dog Lady was pregnant - we took her to the vet and although the vet had told us that she wasn't, we kids still hoped. Our parents had just gotten home from a Jazz game when the scratching started. Our second dog Cuddles was going crazy at the backdoor. We let her in and she turned in circles, ran outside, turned in circles and then ran back to us. I felt like I was watching an episode of Lassie :-). We went outside and found Lady on the back porch underneath an old basinet with 4 little puppies by her. It felt like Christmas - we couldn't believe it! We heard some whimpering from a little ways off and followed the noise. It was there we discovered this cute little off white puppy. Somehow she had been seperated from the bunch. This little dog was soon after Nala (I had an obsession with the Lion King at the time). My parents promised that we could keep one of the puppies and while we did argue a bit it was me who convinced everybody that we should keep the fiesty little runt of the group, and so we did.

Some of my fondest memories of childhood include this little dog. I remember trying to get her to climb up the stairs when she was a puppy, encouraging her to not sit and whimper when she got frustrated. I remember the walks I used to take with her around my neighborhood. I remember the warmth of her little body as she would curl up next to me at night. And later in life, especially in college, when I would spend weeks away from home. Everytime I would come through that door she was always there at the top of the stairs so excited to see me; her tail wagging so quickly and excitedly that her whole body would literally shake.

I still can't believe that she's really gone. It really does seem like I'm in some sort of horrible nightmare and keep waiting to wake up from it. 12 hours ago she was her normal sweet self... how quickly things can change. It really makes me take a step back and look at life. Things can change in a matter of hours, minutes and even seconds. Now is the time to make the most of life. Cherish those you hold dear, no matter how human or canine they may be, because you never know when they will be gone. To quote Roger Caras "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

RIP Nala - you will be missed so much more than you know. We love you.