Saying Goodbye to a Good Friend

Monday of this week, I experienced the death of a good friend.  Pumpkin, our 3 pound, 14 year old Pomeranian was put to sleep.  It was one of the toughest things that I've ever had to do.  My wife and I said goodbye and wept.  We were still crying last night.

It broke my heart when we told the girls.  All 3 of them wept with us on Monday after school when we told them.  It's tough to see them taking it so hard.

As Pumpkin aged, she slept about 23 hours a day, literally.  She was starting to have a lot of physical conditions and wasn't eating very much.  It was just time and we had to let her go.

Why has it been so hard?  I've thought, "It's a dog, for crying out loud!"  I'll tell you why it's been hard.  We did life together.  And we loved.

Life together.  For 14 years she was there for us.  Every time I left to go coach football or basketball when we lived in Colorado, she stayed home and kept Amy company.  When I got home late from a lock-in, she was there.  I would sometimes get home from a trip at 3 in the morning, and Pumpkin would be there in bed with Amy keeping a watchful eye.  She was with us right after we got married.  One of the first things we picked up after we tied the knot was the puppy.  She was there when all of our girls were born.  She was pushed around in strollers, dressed up like a baby, carried here, there, and yonder.  She cleaned the food dropped on our floor at the kitchen table.  She was a lover and a cuddler.  She was content to sit on your lap and just lay to keep you company.  She would sit and shake and do 360's till she got a treat.  She sensed when we were sad or stressed and would always show care and concern for us as best a dog can.  She was there for us, no matter what.  We shared SO many good times and bad times through the years.  She loved us unconditionally.  She was fiercely loyal.  She was a part of the family.  She will be sorely missed.

Why so hard?  Because we shared life together.  As all Christians should do; as all Christians need to do.  But we don't open up to each other like we should.  Too careful to keep up appearances, hiding our sin and our struggles from one another.  We don't share life together, all of it's joys and pains, bearing one another's burdens.  "Man's best friend" shouldn't be a dog, but one of us. A brother or sister in the Lord that loves us no matter what, scars and wounds and all.  A brother or sister that's there for us through thick and thin.  We need a Christian who will be there for us no matter what we say or do.  Someone who will accept us and do life with us.  Loyal.  Loving.  By our side.  Never leaving us, even at our worst.  Always caring for us, like family.

I thank God for the time we had with Pumpkin.  So many great memories....

Saying goodbye to a good friend is so hard.  But I think that's the way it should be.