Ella died

I think most of you know already, but in case you hadn't heard, Ella died last week. She went outside and we found her a couple of hours later outside the kitchen door. She died quietly and quickly from an apparent heart attack. We have all been reeling to adjusting without her. Josh, with his five year old sensibility, says he is doing fine with Tucker, thank you very much. THank you God for his resilience. Samantha, being older, is pretty heartbroken. Ella was her first word. Sam's first step was to get up and steal Ella's bone, and yes, she chewed on it too before I could get it away from her. Ella took all of this with a benign sense of love and care that I could never have imagined in a dog. One day, in the midst of my fatigue and Samantha's terrible two tantrums, I was about to blow my stack. Ella got up from her bed and sat next to Sam on the couch and looked at me. I looked at her, and realized I needed to step back and breathe for a minute. So I did and when I got back a minute later, Ella was back in her bed and I sat down with Sam and we snuggled for a few minutes and the world was right again. I never forgot that look she gave me, and It has often served as a reminder to me to offer love instead of anger.

Ella was cremated so we can bury her in our backyard. We haven't been able to do it yet, but hope to soon.

Joshua was very curious about what was going on with Ella, so he went out back with us to help us carry her body to the car. He patted her body a little, and then he was fine. Sam is avoiding the whole thing as much as possible. To each his own.

I should also note here that Tucker has gone through quite a bit in the last month as well. He had a few tumors removed to have them graded, and the area on his foot swelled and cut off the circulation to his hind foot. He had no circulation for two days, and it just never got better. He did very well, but we were dealing with what amounts to a rotting foot for two weeks before we and the surgeon decided it was time to remove the leg. The children have been very careful with him and are great with him only having three legs. Tucker needs frequent walks to rebuild his leg muscle after begin so sick, so we all walk around the block together. When I can drag the kids away from the TV. It has been a lot for everyone, but they all seem to have adjusted fine.