Cash

Four years ago we bought our first home.  We were nowhere near ready for kids (so we thought) but desperately wanted a dog. He was the perfect fit for us.  A clearance puppy from Craigslist, a Golden Retriever, Labrador mix with more personality and heart than I could have ever asked for.  We loved him from the first day he came to live with us.

Three weeks ago we said goodbye to our first baby.  We came home from church and he was clearly in a lot of pain.  He could hardly move and was very lethargic.  Matt took him to the ER vet and they ran some tests.  The vet found approx. a liter of blood in his stomach, most likely caused by a ruptured tumor.  His prognosis was bleak.  They said it was probably cancer and and that they could do exploratory surgery and try to remove the tumor but there were no guarantees. We made the extremely hard decision to say goodbye.

He was part of our family and we miss him dearly.  The house just doesn't feel the same without him.

I miss him every time I open the door to an empty house.  I miss him when we're playing in the backyard.  I miss him at night when he's not laying at the foot of our bed.  I miss him when Avery asks when Cash is coming back. 

It just breaks my heart that we lost a piece of our family so unexpectedly.  He was so young.  The kids are still so young and now they'll never really remember him.  Avery loved playing with him... he would just lay on the floor while she draped blankets on him and used him as a pillow.

I'm scared we'll never have another dog like him.  He was one in a million.  I know we will love all future pets but there was something special about him.  He started this stage of our life with us.  Our kids were supposed to grow up with him.  He was so much more than a dog.

Love you Cashy Boy.