Good-Bye Sweet Bearette.

Today we had to say good-bye to Bearette. It has been a sad and emotional week. At 14, you know your time is limited, but it doesn't make it any easier when the time actually comes. Many of her issues we had been managing quite well with medications, but some things were getting worse. This was a bad week for her, and though there may have been extreme things we could have tried to keep her with us a little longer, we would just have been masking her problem, not fixing her. It is the ultimate gift, to be able to end your loved one's suffering, and that is what we did today. She wasn't herself lately, and that is what made us know that we were doing the right thing. My co-workers were so wonderful to us. Even though we were short handed this week, they let me stay home for a few hours after lunch so we could spend that time together. Dr Branch was wonderful with Briony, explaining everything in a way that I was too emotional to do myself. We held her as she left this world and we spent a few quiet moments with her afterwards. Thankfully, these next few days we have quite a lot to keep us occupied, though our hearts and our home will never be the same.

These are some photos I had of us with Bearette. The ones with Cale are from our photoshoot last summer, when my friend Jason from Ward Photography came and took photos of all of us.