Saying Goodbye

It's been a hard week. Last weekend we made the very difficult decision to give up our dog, Opal, who has been an important member of our family since May of 2008. This is actually the second time we made this decision. The first time was last March after numerous snapping episodes, all involving children. A series of events brought her to a neighbor's apartment and then back home to us. She seemed to be doing well but then with the start of school came children into our home again. In a one week period she snapped at/bit two children and snapped and growled at a young neighbor (thankfully Tom had her by the leash and she didn't make contact this time). We are thankful that nobody was seriously injured. These events were hard to face but after much counsel we decided to bring her to the Potter League where we trust they will place her with a family without young children. Thankfully, Cole spent a week at the Potter League camp this summer and knows how much they care for animals there. We are all heartbroken. All three of our kids were so close with Opal. She slept at the end of Cole's bed at night and each morning the kids battled for a position closest to Opal on the couch. We miss her huge tail wag, the way she always greeted us with someone's shoe or sock in her mouth, the silly way she slept, and so much more. I am thankful for the gift she was to us. Cole doesn't talk much about Opal but I know he suffers the most with this decision. I often overheard him telling her that she was his best friend. He has been doing remarkably well. I love this quote from Greg Laurie, in his book Why Believe? : We usually don't know when one of life's storms will be blowing our way. We don't know when a crisis will hit- but God knows when the hardships are coming. Not only that, he also knows when we are ready for them. How true that is! Well, here are a few pictures of our beloved Opal.