My Loving Lady Bug

I found a little puppy in a pet store over 7 years ago. She was pure bred German Short Haired Pointer but on sale because no one would buy her. She had shoulder displaysia and a scarred snipped tail which may have turned others away. My husband and I, lovers of the weak or mistreated, took her home instantly. Since then, our growing family has experienced a gift like no other.

Lady Bug was the most amazing, loving, and devoted dog I have ever known. She laid with me after 8 surgeries, two separate 3 month periods of bed rest while pregnant, and during countless colds and ailments. Never once did she bump me or hurt me. Likewise with the children. Lady would let them sit on her, pull her ears, or poke her eyes, with only a kiss in return.

She led the entire family on 3-5 mile runs often and would actually grin when we came home. That's right, she smiled, something usually linked to only Dalmations.

Last Sunday at 2:30am, I heard a loud crash. I got up and ran to her. She was leaning against the dresser, or so I thought at first. Her front legs were laying on the ground but her rear legs were still leaning against the dresser. I thought she may have dislocated her shoulder from the displaysia. But I soon realized that she could not move.

I called to my husband to turn on the light. I felt her shoulder, but nothing was abnormal. The lights went on and she looked up at me and smiled while she wagged her nub of a tail. I put her back end on the ground and rubbed her. Within seconds, she could no longer lift her head or move her tail. Then I realized her mouth was moving to breathe but her lungs didn't. I watched helplessly for another minute while she passed in my arms.

My husband carried her to the truck and drove her to the 24-hour vet. We knew she had passed but couldn't give up that last bit of hope. The vet confirmed what I already knew, Lady had stroked out in our room and had passed quickly and probably with very little pain.

Pain, unfortunately, is not something we've been without the last few days. The boys are doing better than my husband and I are, oddly enough. We feel as though we have lost our baby girl. I still walk around the house talking to her as though she were here. The worst part is when I forget and then remember.

Lady is a member of an amazing breed. We have been told that her behaviors are very common for GSPs. If you ever have the opportunity to know one, appreciate it, they are gifts from heaven.