This past week we were quickly reminded how life can change in an instant. We were having a great day and we had just finished taking some family pictures. Addie cooperated and smiled until she couldn’t hold her fat little cheeks up anymore. It was hot, it was beautiful, it was fun, and life was good.
That night we were staying at Lacy’s parent’s house and watching their dog Lucy while they were out of town. Since we have two dogs of our own we have to take them with us when we stay at their house. Neely and Abby (our dogs) love going to the grandparents house, whether it’s my parents house where they get to play with Smokey and Layla, or Lacy’s parents house where they get to play with Lucy.
On this particular occasion we didn’t take our wireless electrical fence with us, which was also normal. The dogs usually stick close to home and have multiple acres to run and play. However, this time Abby decided to venture a little further from home that usual.
Shortly before dark I was yelling for all the dogs to come inside. In came Lucy. In came Neely. In didn’t come Abby. We yelled for her for a couple minutes and she was nowhere to be found. This wasn’t particularly unusual, as she was always into something and dancing to the beat of her own drum.
Lacy’s sister, Susan, who had also been at the house, was getting ready to leave. Shortly after she pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the road my phone rang. When I saw that it was Susan calling I immediately knew why she was calling. She had found Abby. After I told Lacy I got in my car and found Abby a couple hundred yards from the house lifeless in the road, she was dead.
The neighbors came over and told us that while they had been in their yard “about 15 minutes ago” they had seen a silver sports car driving down the road doing “50-55” mph and then heard a loud “bang”. They thought the car had run off the road or simply hit something in the road. The car kept on driving they said, but when they saw Abby they knew the car had hit her.
Fortunately, I’m comfortable knowing Abby must have died instantly and not suffered. But, as we all know that doesn’t necessarily make it easier. For someone who has been abundantly blessed in life and not experienced a lot of sorrow, this was extremely difficult to swallow. I will never forget finding Abby in the road and I will never forget having to bury her under the moon that night.
What a good dog she was. She wasn’t even two years old, she was still our puppy and Neely’s best friend. We called her “Clifford” because she was like the big red dog that was so happy and clumsy and didn’t realize how big she was. She was the biggest miniature schnauzer I had ever seen.
She loved her new sister Addie Grace. When Addie would cry or get fussy, Abby would stop whatever she was doing, seek her out and lay down beside her. She would crawl under Addie’s crib when Addie was in it, and you would only see her face peeking out. She was always protecting her.
She was Lacy’s Christmas present. She loved to play. She loved to wrestle. She loved tennis balls. She loved bones. She could eat a whole bowl of food before Neely could take her first bite. She was reliable. She was happy. She brought many smiles and laughter to our house.
She loved us and we loved her. We will always remember her and always love her.
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| Christmas Eve 2009, the day I gave Abby to Lacy. |
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| Abby and her toybox |
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| Priorities |
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| Best Friends |
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| Playing Ball |
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| Lazy Sundays Watching Football |
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| Christmas 2010 |
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| Lacy and her Abby |
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| Protecting Addie while she was still in Lacy's belly |
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| Sweetest Dog In The World |
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| We Will Miss You |
