A Life Well Lived

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From the moment she came into our lives, Teddy did her best to take care of her humans, especially the kids. Being a golden retriever, she took it upon herself to retrieve and return every baseball that her boy hit into the weeds, no matter how long it took to find them. When one of her girls was oblivious to the danger she was in from a poisonous snake, Teddy shoved her backwards, ignoring her protests, until she was a safe distance away. Then she stood guard, barking and keeping the copperhead engaged until an adult came to remove it. In the last couple of years, our Teddy developed arthritis and struggled to get around. The vet prescribed pain meds and she seemed better, once again running and chasing birds. Lately, she stopped playing, could barely get up and down, but she never failed to wag her tail when spoken to. When she stopped getting up and refused to eat, we knew it was time to let her go. I hugged her good-bye as she lay wrapped in a soft blanket, waiting for her final trip to the vet. She had given us her all for 12 years, and now, surrounded by her humans, she would peacefully fall asleep and leave the pain behind.