It is with a heavy heart that I write this post - a final farewell to Josie.
(September 27, 2001 - August 24, 2015)
As you probably already know, Mike and I met while I was attending graduate school out in Bellingham, WA. He was my physical therapist after I had ACL reconstructive surgery. Josie was Mike's dog; when I first entered Mike's (and Josie's) life, she was about 2.5 years old. One day, after I was done with classes and while Mike was still working, my roommate and I decided to pick up Josie from Mike's apartment for a little 'girl' time. We took Josie hiking up to Fragrance Lake in the Chuckanut Mountains. This is the very first picture I took of Josie…during our first outing:
Years later (I think after we got married), Mike told me that when he found out that I took Josie for a hike, he knew I was a keeper. :-) Thanks for the help, Josie!
That picture of Josie will forever be ingrained in our hearts.
Before kids, Josie was our family.
And when we had kids, she became the protector of the family.
(Josie watching over Colden)
(Josie watching over Reese)
~~~~~
When Colden gets married, we will tell his future wife that his first 'kiss' was with Josie :-)
Sometimes Josie may have been a bad influence on the kids:
But I think she also taught them how to enjoy life in a way that neither Mike nor I could have done:
Towards the end, she might not have been able to keep up as easily; a combination of her getting older and slower…and the kids getting older and faster
But that didn't stop her from enjoying her family time and wanting to be a part of the action.
~~~~~
This was the day we brought Frankie, our cat, home. Josie wasn't quite sure about what was on the other side of that door…
But they soon became inseparable...
Up until the very end...
~~~~~
We were a family through and through.
(We'll blame the kids' strange expressions on them not understanding the point of a camera's self timer)
In the weeks leading up to the inevitable, Mike and I explained to both Colden and Reese what was going to happen. Reese didn't understand; Colden was upset. Today, when the time finally came, Mike and I were both with Josie at the vet, so she was never alone. After we picked the kids up from school, Colden wanted to draw a picture to show how he was feeling:
The blue dots are tears.
~~~~~
But to end on a happy note; reflecting on the good (and silly) times:
And I will end on my very favorite picture of Josie:
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
