Jade

My father lost his dog last month. It was a heart breaking time for all of us. What an amazing dog she was! I really don't know how my father would have gotten through these years of mom's disease without Jade. She brought so much joy to Him as his "big boofer dog" and she ran like clock work in a world of chaos. She had a schedule in her head and she made sure everyone stayed on schedule. Up in the morning, snacks, and bathroom runs were around the same time everyday. No matter what was going on. As mom's memory faded she knew how to coax mom into more snacks as well. She was a true friend and a little fat at the end from all the extra snacks.

But she was also the safe companion my father needed to walk with him through all the madness of Alzhiemers. She never judged my Dad or gave him advice on how to proceed. Surprisingly she was a rather talkative dog in that my Dad supplied a running dialog with her as if he could read her thoughts. I suppose it is how the introverted create company without having to pick up the phone.

I have always had a lot of thoughts about what we need to do or think about for the future or fix about the present. My Dad has been gracious to listen and implement some of those things. But what he has really needed is a travel buddy and Jade did that for him. It was a big loss for him. We all felt it and my brother helped my Dad bury her behind the barn in the cold ground of winter.

As I've kept my eye on the situation at home, I've been looking for signs of depression from my Dad. But amazingly he seems to be doing well. After a dog dies in our family, I always hear the speech about how that was the last dog and how my father's heart couldn't handle another dog. But eventually another dog always shows up. So far no dog and Dad seems to be doing ok and spring is almost here. So I don't know if Dad is just in a better place or Jade just did her job really well, but we are all beginning to feel hope again. It feels like sunshine.