Sunshine

Yesterday we had to have our Sunshine put to sleep. She was a 13 year old border collie/blue heeler mix. The girls grandparents had given her to them for a Christmas present years ago. I went to pick her out as a 'surprise' for the girls. When I went out to the Critter Lady's place, Sunshine was the one I picked out. Dad got to go pick her up to bring her home. Sunshine reminded me a lot of my dog, Fritzi, so I guess it was a karma thing. I loved her tri-color and the fact her white 'collar' didn't go all the way around her neck.

She was born to be a cow dog but she never chased a cow or chicken. She had to be a town dog. She chased birds for awhile and had a dislike for squirrels. As she aged, they didn't bother her so much. She more or less tolerated them at that point.

Sunshine was our alarm clock and door bell. She was also a barometer. She had survived a near miss by the tornado that had passed over Indianola during her first summer with us. She never liked thunderstorms at all after that. We could tell when the storms were going to be worse simply by how she reacted.

It was only fitting that since I was the one to pick her out, that I took her to the vet. My face was the first and last one she saw. She had struggled over the last couple of months and that was confirmed with the professional diagnosis a while ago. We knew she had didn't need to suffer any longer because her quality of life wasn't there. The vet techs and the vet were all very nice to Sunshine and they were compassionate to me as well.

We didn't have a place to bury her. We have to rent now so I had to take her to a place and hour away where they cremate pets. It was actually a mortuary with a pet service. They were all very nice even if I was a blubbering, puffy faced mess.

The head knows that it was her time to cross over and get back to chasing birds and growling at those dang gone squirrels but the heart breaks none-the-less. We will miss our Sunshine.