Ashley

Losing Holly (my "heart" dog) was hard.  She was the gentle soul that kept our crazy little pack together.   It took me a long time to get over losing her. I don't really know if you ever actually get over losing a pet. I think that you learn to love new ones but that familiar pang of hurt still hits your heart out of the blue sometimes.

About two months after we lost her, Wendy found an "older" (approx 9yrs old) dog at the rescue place where we got our wild man, Kody.  Wendy showed me picture and I couldn't believe how much she resembled Holly---too much so.  I was not ready.  After another year or so passed, Wendy realized Ashley was still in foster care. I couldn't stand the thought of an old dog needing, and not having, a forever home. I realized that I was ready. 

Ashley had been with Atlanta Squad Dogs for over 2years in their foster system. It impressed me that they NEVER gave up finding her a home.  We decided on a Thursday that we would meet them in Atlanta that Saturday. This would be an 11hr turnaround trip.  We took Kody to give Ashley some company and to see how well that she would interact with other dogs. 

We knew going in she was an older dog and would have issues but we were in for a surprise!
 Wendy and I got there early, so excited to meet the newest member of our family! We walked into Petco and there she was, wagging her tail with all her might.  It was assumed that she was a "breeder" dog and was turn loose because she was found in a park in horrible shape.  She required lots of meds and a surgery to get her back in to adoption shape.

Wendy and I both looked at her, fell in love immediately and thought (quietly to ourselves) "what in God's name have we done??".  She could walk but struggled to get up. Her eyes were cloudy and we wondered if she could even see.  But there was no turning back.  She needed us as much as we needed her.

This was her adoption picture.

First stop was the vet.  We were informed that she was overweight (I know that lots of us can relate to that!), could see just fine, and was probably at least 12yrs old. But, all-in-all, she was in great health! That was a shocker for a dog her age!  

Next stop was the spa.  Our friend, Jen, turned her into a Princess.  Every single person who met her, fell in love.  Us included.

after her spa visit

As the months went she lost weight and even got to the point she was coming upstairs to work with me every day.  She was with out a doubt the happiest dog I had ever met.  She was my goto model for me when I need to shoot stil life.

and one of my all time favorites.

She even atteneded her first prom (ok, it was fundraiser but she did not know that).  Here she is with her date Rocky.

On sunny Saturday in November I decided to start working on the Christmas pictures.  Hers, of course were easy and over in minutes.  I had what I needed.

But for some reason I kept shooting and got one of my favorite pictures of her.

As the cold months approached, I noticed her having trouble breathing and she was falling outside more than usual.  We took her to the vet and discovered that she had cancer.  At her age, treatments were not much of an option.   We decided to let nature take it's course. That was on Monday, November 15th and by Thursday, November 19th we had to let her go. We couldn't stand the thought of her being in pain.  We think that once she heard she was sick, she was just done.

She had lived a full life and was ready to go meet Holly.

In answer to the question "What in God's name have we done?"

What WE did was give a dog a lifetime's worth of love in 10months.

What WE did was take a chance on an old gal and we were so rewarded!  Everyone who met her was.

What WE did was try to make a difference...I think we did.

What SHE did was touch our lives forever!  We miss her every single day.

What SHE did was give me the most amazing picture I have ever taken.