Tonight, we go to sleep saddened by knowing that our beloved Yorkie will be put down tomorrow. She’s 12yo, and is shot through w/cancer. It’s the best for reducing her pain. But, that cold, logic does little to assuage our emotions.

I grew up around rabbit dogs & pointers. And, I am not unfamiliar w/ dead animals. I am a fishery/wildlife biologist. As a young child, I remember a dog, a beagle named Sparky. We were bubbies whenever I went to see my Dad’s family in Louisiana. I remember Sparky developed a limp. one day, Sparky and my Papop went for a “walk”. And Sparky didn’t come back.

Now, 40+ yrs later, I learned that my Papop, took all his aging hunting dogs back to his childhood home site, outside Ossun and buried them under some Live oaks, in a row, marked with rocks.

When I got the diagnosis of inoperable cancer in our Yorkie, I was unprepared for the wellspring of emotions that pour out. Before we adopted Sookie, I would’ve laughed if you told me my favorite dog would be a 10# Yorkie. Well, she melted a hole in my heart and crawled in. And I am grateful.

So many tears, so many tears.