New York

In January we took off to New York to see our best friends. It was a great trip and we had so much fun over those 10 days. Ruark still asks for Alex almost every day. We can't wait to see them again!

Here's the first bunch of pics, too much fun for just one post!

Our little dog with a big heart

On April 16th we lost Calliope. It was a really low blow. The vet was calling us and keeping us informed she was dehydrated after a seizure and needed some fluid. Her temperature was a little low too so they wanted to keep her to observe her. He said that she would be fine and I could take her home soon. Just half an hour after getting off the phone with him he called to say her temperature dropped and she slipped into a coma and passed away.

Her last few days were hard on her but we all thought she would pull out of it. I can't believe how hard this has hit me, I didn't know I loved her so much. Calliope has always been Chase and Ruark's dog, maybe that why it hurts so much. I watch Chanelle and the boys walk around heartbroken all day. I have to keep explaining to Ruark thy she is gone which makes it all resurface.

Not long after she died I kept thinking where is she, I know where humans go and the Plan of Salvation. But where do dogs go. My heart broke thinking that she was just gone. I felt like I was ripping in two thinking that she was gone and her spirit had no where to go. How do others who are not of my faith go on after the loss of a family member?

I started googling church literature on the matter, I couldn't sleep and I just felt empty. I ran across some greta information to share. I'm sure very few people care about their pets as much as we do for ours, but I hope some will gain a little peace from these quotes.

Moses 3:5
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.

Quote:
The spirits of animals are in the likeness of their bodies. The spirit is eternal and does not change. The spirit of an elephant looks like an elephant; the spirit of man looks like a man. This is true of all creatures under Heaven. Therefore, the body of the creature cannot change and evolve into something different and still look like its spirit. This principle is simply stated by the Lord that there might not be misunderstandings. (Sacred Truths of the Doctrine and Covenants Vol. II, p. 38)

Quote:
They [animals] will be resurrected and placed in their appropriate places in Heaven. As the fall of Adam affected animals, (see Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:22) so also through the atonement will the animals be heirs of salvation in their respective spheres. (Sacred Truths of the Doctrine and Covenants Vol. II, p.38)

Quote:
We also learn from this revelation and the word of the Lord in other revelations that in the eternities the animals and all living creatures shall be given knowledge, and enjoy happiness, each in its own sphere, in "their eternal felicity." These creatures will not then be the dumb creatures that we suppose them to be while in this mortal life. (Sacred Truths of the Doctrine and Covenants Vol. II, p. 69)

I read these quotes over and over again the past few days. We buried her out at my mom's an hour after she passed. Her body was still warm while we held and placed her in the box. Ruark put in some candy for her, a family picture of us all together and a picture of jesus. We wrapped her in her favorite blanket and said goodbye.

We went to leave the house and I kept calling Calliope to go home instead of Chanelle. We cried all the way home and talked about what an amazing dog she was for our family. She always made us feel loved.

When we got home I let Chanelle out to go potty and had the strangest feeling I was letting both dogs out. I watched closely and I realized no there is only one. I let Chanelle back in and went in to rock Rhett to sleep. Under the tree in his nursery I had the strangest feeling that she was there and I cried and told her how much we love her and we will miss her. I talked for a while and finally exhausted from all the tears I carried Rhett to bed with us while I wrote in my journal. It was all such a jumble in my head I just really needed to process it all.

Halfway through my entry I dazed off thinking about Calliope while I held Rhett in my arms. All of a sudden Rhett reached up and grabbed my lip and yelled down really hard. It snapped me out of it and Chase and I started laughing because that was what Calliope did to us whenever she wanted our attention. Rhett looked deep into my eyes and smiled and turned away from me to look about a foot away and reached out and started petting the air looking at the same spot while a big smile the same way he used to with Calliope. Chase and I looked at each other and said what is going on? Rhett turned back to me again and once again pulled on my lip, looked deep into my eyes and turned again to pet the air and smile at the same spot.

I was so heartbroken that we weren't there with her the last two days because she was at my Mom's and then at the Vet's everyone was doing everything they could to help her. I wish we had held her when she passed away, that we had known she was that sick. How were we to know, the vet didn't! We were there when her spirit went to heaven and she came to say goodbye.

We miss her, all of us. The small spot on our bed where she slept every day for 5 years seems like a crater. How could something so small take up such a place in our heart? We love her and can't wait to see our little puppy in heaven when we get there. I'm at peace that my future children are their with her and she knows them and feels as loved as she did here in our home.




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