Emmy

​In the summer of 2003, I got a puppy.  She was the last of the litter.  Full of puppy energy.    I really had no business getting a dog, considering I couldn't really afford to feed myself, let alone bring a tiny puppy that requires vet visits and food and training and time and attention into the house.  But I met this girl and we fell in love.
​Unconditional love. 
​We lived in our little house on Hanssler Place where, after what seemed like years (it was only weeks really) she got the whole "housebroken" thing down, she loved to chase squirrels, go on car rides and would spend hours running along the fence barking at the twin girls that lived next door. 
She got me through some difficult times.  She was always there.
​In the fall of 2007, I got a promotion.  A promotion that would take me to Denver to live, and knowing that my schedule would be unpredictable, require a lot of traveling and find me living in an apartment, the difficult decision was made to leave Emmy with my parents.  I still think about leaving that dog.  It was the WORST. DAY. EVER.
​I couldn't get out of the house without crying.  I got in that Penske truck filled with everything I owned, headed down the road and for the next 8 hours had bout after bout of uncontrollable tears. 
​I settled in to life in Denver without a dog, and my mom and dad settled into life with a dog.  Emmy became their dog.   
On visits home, she would be happy to see me, but I could tell, she had moved on.
​She was now their constant companion.
​When I moved home in 2012, it was clear that Emmy was no longer my dog. 
​As the years passed, she started to slow.  She was getting older, but in 2014 Duff found me.  Another energetic puppy, left at the shelter, I immediately fell in love again.
​Duff put some spring back in Emmy's step.  They spent hours in the backyard at my mom and dad's chasing squirrels, chasing each other, barking at the mailman, begging and barking in unison for treats.  Duff was always the instigator, poking at her, getting her to make chase through the house....keeping her on toes.
​Late last week, Emmy got sick.  She wasn't herself.  A trip to the vet revealed her kidneys and liver were failing.  The hard decision was made, but she, in her own loving way, decided to make it for us.  She took her last breaths on her own.  She was gone.
​Our girl is gone.  We miss her.