Today, Our hearts are very sad because we lost a beloved part of our family. About six months ago, we noticed a large lump on Xena's left side. It grew and became very hard and we had to have it surgically removed. When the biopsy came back, it had very bad news, the tumor was malignant and there was the possibility that it had already began to spread. Our Xena had the heart of a warrior and she showed her indomitable spirit as she fought this terrible disease. She always came to greet everyone of the family members every single time we would leave and then return, with her tail wagging and barks of welcome home, just like she always had done. Sadly, though it became evident that this terrible disease was stealing her strength and she began losing weight significantly. Suddenly things began to go down hill rapidly and within a month, she lost 18 pounds and could not keep her food down. Then she just began to refuse food and would just quietly lie near any of us that were home. The end came today, and we lost our precious and special creature that God had allowed to love us and us her in return.

Xena was Eddie's dog and he loved her. She was his special pet and friend. When he first, came home one day from his Optimist football practice and asked his Mom, "One of my friends dog had puppies and they said I could have one, is it OK with you?" I was amazed that Helen said yes, because Eddie had pestered her for years asking her to allow him to have a pet. When I asked her what made her tell him Yes this time over all the no's from previous years, she said, "I have been praying about whether or not to let him have a pet, and just felt like God wanted him to have one, so I decided that the next time he asked, I would say yes". So we know that Xena was a gift from God to our Eddie. She filled his life with that special bond of love and joy that only a boy and his dog can experience. She always slept in his bed with him from the time that he was a twelve year old 90 pound little boy and she was a puppy till he is a grown young man of over 170 lbs and she was a 65 pound dog. It was a lot more crowded, but who cared. He taught her how to perform many different kinds of tricks which she excitedly learned because she wanted to show him how smart she was and wanted to please him in every way she could. She would get so excited when he would come home every day, spinning in circles, barking, jumping up and covering in doggie kisses and acting like he had be gone for months instead of just a few hours. Eddie loved Xena and Xena loved Eddie. Everyone knew that she was his dog, but Xena's heart was so large that she had enough love for everyone of us, Julie, Joy, Mom and Dad. We were her family. She was our family too.

Each one of us has our own special Xena story that explains how she captivated our hearts and why we loved her. As we sit in our house tonight, there is a huge void. We look around and see the Xena marks in our home. The scratches on the door from wanting to go out, the bite marks on the coffee table when she was learning not to bite on the coffee table. The places on the walls where she loved to lay next to and wore the paint thin. Her doggie dishes where we fed and watered her. Her leash and collar that had to be extra heavy duty because she always loved to drag Helen or Joy down the sidewalk when they would walk her. But the biggest void of all is in our hearts, because she will always be missed and never forgotten. She loved us unconditionally and never asked for love in return, she just gave us all of her love and devotion.

Dear God, thank you for allowing us to love and be loved by this very special part of your creation.