what's meant to be, is meant to be.

i read something awhile ago that resonated with me. the article spoke about how human nature is to look for patterns in things. we tend to relate things to other things that really don't have anything to do with each other. or we try to find meaning in things that have no meaning at all. i think this struck a cord with me because i read this after shortly after layla passed away. and, as most of you know, also shortly after layla died, we adopted denali. as hard as we tried not to, we related a lot of things denali does to her.

her sweetness. her desire to be loved. her lean. her sass. her need for snuggles. her dominating personality. her gimpy leg.

the signs all pointed to "she was meant to be." and i don't doubt it for a minute, but we attributed it to her similarities to layla, not her own "denaliness". but we try our hardest not to. because she is denali. not layla. we also know we chose her for other reasons.

to save her. to complete our home. companionship. love.

as much as she is different from layla, because she is an independent and stubborn lady, she will forever remind us of her. her adoption date will always be near layla's passing date. her leg issues will always be a reminder of layla's end of life struggles. her sweetness, love, and zest will always remind us of our peppy and happy girl.

and as much as we try not to make up patterns and try not to relate her to layla. i find that it is ok that we do. denali helped this grieving house. she did not replace layla, no other dog ever could, but she did help complete our family again. she brought life back into our home. she brings energy, craziness, and excitement.

as much as i try to separate denali from layla, it's tough. just today i was setting up her microchip information that that i finally received. the rescue organization had input some information to her online profile. so, when i logged on it had her name, birth date, etc. it was exciting to see her birth date on there because we have always been kind of unsure of the exactly date.

do you know who she shares a birthday with?

LAYLA.

if this isn't a fucking sign, i don't know what is. she was definitely meant for us.

xoxo,
ks

the house rests quietly now...

life changes.

no matter how much we want it to stay the same. it changes. right when we are comfortable with how life is, she changes on us. she surprises us and takes us on a whole new ride. sometimes we aren’t expecting these changes. sometimes we are, yet even when they happen we aren’t quite sure how to deal with them.

my family dog passed away last week. we knew it was coming. she was 14 years old. despite minor health issues, she was still plugging along. so when it happened so suddenly, i don’t think any of us were quite ready for it.

life changes.

so now after 14 years with this amazing furry, black family member, we have to figure out how to move on. how to continue without her. we have to decide what to do with this life change. how do we cope? how do we manage this loss, that even though we knew it was coming, it still was a shock and harder to absorb than ever imagined.

pets are amazing additions to a family. they bring laughter. frustration. companionship. training. obedience. loyalty. unconditional love.
so what do we do when we lose a pet? a pet that was so loud when neighbors went by. a pet that was so excited when you came in the door...every single time. a dog that followed you to bed every single night. a dog that was a part of your daily routine, from start to finish.
how do we fill those voids? what fills the silences and the empty house?

life changes.

when life changes, usually time is the only one who can tell what the future holds. time will soften the pain and help us find solace knowing that she is in a better place. she is peaceful and happy.
time will help us find ways to move on and to fill the silence and voids.

life changes.

RIP bailey 07.25.11, we will love you always