My Dog Eden

A year ago today my best friend went to Doggy Heaven. Putting Eden to sleep has been, by far, the hardest thing that I have ever had to do and keeping my act together today has not been easy. Sure, Eden was only a dog...but she wasn't JUST a dog. She was probably the best dog you would ever meet. She was my Baby Eden.

 

I picked her out when she was just a mere two days old, visited her as often as I could, and took her home on Christmas Eve. She was unique in that, she ALWAYS had to touch me when she was riding in the car--she was a Mama's Girl, tried to save me from drowning in the pool--even though I wasn't, and protected me from vicious people at the vet--it was an old lady, but who's keeping tabs?! She was my Baby Eden. 

Eden was a German Shepherd. Big, beautiful, intimidating looking...she thought she was a chihuahua, but we won't hold that against her.  She wanted to play fetch with her ball...or her brick--she wasn't picky--with anyone who would play with her. I trained her to become a Pet Therapy Dog, so we spent weekends at the Veterans Hospital and convalescent hospitals for the first 4-5 years of her life. She loved to make others happy, even if all that meant was climbing up into their hospital bed with them. She was my Baby Eden. 

Once I became sick, she became MY therapy dog. Her job became to make ME feel better. To make ME happy...and she did. Though I couldn't do much more than sit in my dad's shop on the ground, she would bring me her rock to throw and I would hide it in a box. She would entertain herself--and me--by trying to find it. She would see I got tired easily, so she just sat with me. She was my Baby Eden. 

As I grew strong, she would go on walks with me and follow me into the nearby hills by our house. She followed me around our property, never wanting me out of her sight. She was always at the gate watching me leave for work and always waiting there when I came back. She was my Baby Eden. 

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since I had to take Eden in to be put down. And it's hard to believe that I even had to make that decision in the first place. But I had 11 years with her that were AWESOME! She made me smile and laugh SO much. She put up with so much...being dressed up, cried on, squeezed, teased, and never once got grouchy about it. She was the perfect dog. Goodbye, my Baby Eden.