Saying goodbye to Rocket, our beloved family dog

Losing a pet is always hard

The day we said goodbye to Wrigley, our first beloved family dog, after a short and sudden illness was one of the hardest days for our family. All those wonderful years the boys spent playing with him. So many memories of mischief and antics. In one seizure, it all changed. Three weeks later, we found ourselves sitting with him on the floor of the vet’s office crying and saying goodbye. As we drove home, all of us were beside ourselves. Honestly, funerals of people didn’t produce so many tears. The grief of losing our dog was gut-wrenching. The overwhelming power of it took us all by surprise.

Finding our first family dog, Wrigley

Twelve years earlier, we drove by the local animal shelter after church. On a whim, my husband turned in and we got out. It was a beautiful crisp fall day and the dogs were in their cages outside enjoying some fresh air and sunshine. There was this absolutely goofy-looking dog in a terrible dog sweater. It was neither cute or stylish. Just a blah, tannish knit shirt on a tan and black shepherd mix of some kind. He looked up at us and seemed to plead, “Please get this shirt off of me.” We took him out for a walk and fell in love.