I am grateful, thankful and blessed.

Miss Aleah just turned 12 this month! I got her when she was just 3 months old, from my brother, as a graduation high school surprise. When he found her she was sick. She had Giardia, most likely from contaminated food or water. It looked like there was a football in her stomach. She was so lethargic and could hardly run. I brought her to the vet right away and got her the treatment she needed. Once she was healthy, there was no stopping her. She has always been the most energetic, fun, playful and loving dog. I remember the first time I saw her playing fetch with herself. Yes, you read that right. She would find just the slightest incline on the ground and push her yellow tennis ball down the incline and run to meet it before it stopped. She would do this over and over. Not because I didn't play fetch with her, she just really liked playing on her own and after so many throws, my arms needed a break. She has always loved the water. Every time we go camping she is the first one in and the last one out. As she has gotten older we have had to limit her time in the water as we saw she would become so sore after a long day of play at the lake. She would become almost immobile for a day or two after and we knew it was time to slow her down. She has always been so full of life and she never grew out of being a puppy, though she did learn where to go to the bathroom at and some fun tricks, but her thirst for play and love never weakened. Her hyper go get 'em attitude never faded. This past month we got some news from the vet that broke our hearts. She is for the most part a healthy old girl but she has hip dysplasia and will be on pain medication for the rest of her life. In this past month she has slipped/fallen on the ice and hurt herself to the point of immobilization. Being in so much pain, she wouldn't eat or drink for days. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see and a shock at how quickly this became such a serious reality for her. We were told that she may not have much time left because at some point she is either going to fall and not be able to get back up or she will just continuously have a harder time getting up and moving around. We are hopeful to have her with us for another summer and if we are blessed to have even more time than that, we won't question it. Aleah was my first baby. In 2011 I was just a pup myself. She has been with me through all of my adult life. She was there when I had my first heartbreak, when I moved from home, when I welcomed my child into the world and everything else in-between. I cannot imagine a world where she is not there to greet me or scratch me on accident because she still, somehow, thinks she is small. I have watched her beautiful brown fur around her face slowly turn to white. I have seen the pep in her step turn unstable. I have watched her jumps turn to her back legs giving out when she tries to stand. But she still has so much joy for life. She loves to ride with the window down and her little ears flapping in the breeze. She loves going on walks and is very disappointed that they have to be so short now. I asked my dad recently, why we do this to ourselves. Why do we have pets when we know that their time will come before ours? He had a very simple response. "Grief is the price we pay for love". And while that doesn't make this reality hurt any less, it gives me hope. It gives me strength to be able to, one day, get Zeek his own puppy. It reminded me that we dont have pets, we welcome animals into our homes and lives to be part of our family. And just as it works with family, we love and we lose. We learn from these relationships with our animals and they give us something that no one or nothing else can. An unconditional love that requires no spoken language. It just is and always will be.

I am so thankful that I was able to get these photos taken before Aleah's mobility got any worse. While this was an end of life session, I didn't want it to feel like one. I want to be able to look back at these photos and see a happy dog, full of life. Still able to stand and walk and be as stubborn as ever! I wanted to see her. Not what will come in the future, not the end. And as we write her final chapters, there is a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders knowing that we have these photos now and forever. I will always have a return ticket to Aleah (2023 age 12).