Well, I can't believe I'm posting this within a year of losing my girl, but my best bud, Rider, made his way home to the big cattail slough in the sky.
He was the best boy. My wife and I brought rider home the same year we got engaged. He was the ring bearer in our wedding. He was there through finishing school, opening businesses, having babies, buying a house, having more babies. Every memory I can think of as an adult, Rider was there.
On Friday Rides started to not eat. He didn't eat again saturday or sunday. He started getting really tired and could barely stand up. We were travelling, so as soon as we got home sunday evening we called into the emergency vet.
The vet took x-rays and found that he had a bladder tumor and it was getting so large that it was pressing on his intestines. There wasn't anything we could do for him and we made the hard choice.
My tough guy heart is shattered. Losing both of my old dogs in such a short amount of time has made me really think about my life and how much I've missed by being so "busy". It's time to slow down. Time isn't stopping and we need to make the most of it before it runs out. I know that someday the hurt will lessen, but I'll never forget about you big boy. I hope that everyone gets the chance to experience a dog like you.