My photo of the Month is one of the last pictures I took of my girl, Olivia Mae Cummings.
Today we had to put her down and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. God definitely gifted my family with this dog for 13 wonderful years and I could not be more thankful. This picture makes me laugh. Our walks in this last year have been so memorable. I take her on a stroll around the culdesac without a leash as she moseys around stopping to sniff everything. It’s a slow walk, takes a lot of patience, but they were my favorite. She didn’t have much strength in her last weeks but she didn’t act like it at all. You would never be able to tell she was in pain. Me and my mom would laugh at her 13 year old body trying to run like a puppy. Man, I love her.
I don’t even feel guilty for writing a sappy post about my dog because I know most of you have been through the same thing. Dogs are God’s most precious gift to us- companions through different stages in our lives.
We got Olivia for Christmas in 2005. I was in 6th grade. She watched me grow up. She watched us all grow up. She was there through my awkward stages of jr. high. She listened to all my secrets of the boys that I was crushing on. She licked my tears when I came home after a break up. She was there the night I graduated high school. She was there to welcome me home from studying abroad. She even moved with me to Oregon for college and made such a hard time in my life a little bit easier. She enjoyed every second she got to spend with us, never whining for attention but just accepting us as we were. She never complained when we brought another dog into the house. She brought our entire family together with laughter for over a decade.
As hard as it was to watch her breath her last today, I am thankful I got to be there with her and tell her what a wonderful dog she was.
She was my ultimate Christmas gift and this Christmas she will be missed.
Livy Girl,
We love you SO much. You were such a good dog to our family. You brought us joy from the day you came to us till your last. In fact, you STILL bring us joy as we think about all the wonderful memories you gave us. I’ve never laughed harder than I have with you and today I’ve never cried harder. I hope you are running through fields in heaven with our old dog Georgia right now. I can’t wait for the moment you both greet me when I enter into that kingdom one day. You are so loved my sweet girl.
With all our love,
Your family, your humans, your best friends.
