When we first met with Annie, in reviewing her CV, I noticed her birthday and mine are the same date (April 19). I mentioned this to her breeder and she then told me..."you have to take her....it's karma". Well, it was karma and we did take her home. Annie was the best friend anyone could have had as a loving companion. She was smart, joyous, funny, curious, and had the best appetite of any being I ever knew...human or non-human. I was grateful for the happiness she gave us. The love and happiness she gave us will never be forgotten. She loved us with all our imperfections. In March 2021 Annie started having seizures. This was very scary to watch. Annie was treated by her long time regular vet, and an integrative vet and neurologists at a 24x7x365 specialty center. Her daily medications included Phenobarbital, Keppra, a steroid, and thyroid medication because of her underperforming thyroid glands. The medications had various side effects including excessive panting, agitation, mental status changes, excessive thirst and hunger and ataxia at times. She couldn't get comfortable at times which was very disconcerting. On 10/15 she had two seizures on while on a short walk. I rushed her to the emergency vet practice where she was given a sedative. The vet there advised me to take her to the facility that her neurologist practices in. This was done and I left her her there to be treated after getting an MRI for diagnostic purposes. I was called at 3 a.m. by one of the doctors indicating that Annie was not doing well which included not recognizing the staff, drooling, as well as having a 104 temperature which could not be controlled and she was having additional seizures. It was strongly suggested that I consider having Annie euthanized to eliminate her difficulties. Her quality of life had become very compromised and she was suffering and the medical staff treating her told me Annie was not going to recover. My decision to end her life was based on doing what was best for her. I was distraught but felt the most humane thing to do was to end her suffering before her symptoms became worse. Annie's life was ended at 3:28 a.m. on 10/16. I miss her terribly. It was a very difficult decision to make, but I felt giving her peace and ending her suffering was the right thing to do. Dogs lives are shorter than human lives mostly. They are here for a time so we can love and take care of them. Grief is not linear. There is no end date for grief. In the end, we can be a host to God, or a hostage to our ego. The choice is ours. Annie graced our lives while she was here. I believe Annie (and Frankie) and I will reunite at some point in time. I am a better person because of her. I wish her eternal love and peace.

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