Goodbye, Sweet Daisy

Just a few days after we brought Daisy, our little beagle puppy, home, Amberly had tears in her eyes. I asked her what was wrong and in her always dramatic way she replied, "I'm just sad that some day Daisy will die." This is my dear daughter who loves sad movies like Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller. I gave her a hug and assured her that while dogs don't live as long as humans, Daisy was just a young puppy and that we would have her with our family for many years.

Last Sunday evening after dinner our entire family took Daisy on a walk through our neighborhood. When we got home, it was time for bed. Utah Dad took Daisy to the back yard and hooked her to the 30 foot tie down we had installed since she had tried to dig out beneath the fence. We had our individual interviews with the kids, read scriptures, said our family prayers and put the kids to bed. When they were all snug in their beds, Utah Dad went outside to play with his puppy. Daisy didn't come running toward him like she usually did and when he picked her up she was whimpering. There was a trickle of blood on her nose and she wouldn't put any weight on her front left leg. We inspected the yard for signs of an accident and found another place where she had attempted to dig under the fence. Thomas's yellow Tonka truck was also turned upside down. We tried our best to make her comfortable for the night.

Monday morning I took her right to the veterinarian. We were hoping that Daisy might have a simple break or even better just a sprain. The vet suspected that her elbow was dislocated and Utah Dad and I sighed with relief (both Amberly and Lilly have dislocated their elbows and it only requires a simple adjustment to fix). A simple injury made sense. Surely our puppy would be as good as new.

The vet took x-rays and called later to inform us of the bad news--Daisy had severely broken her elbow. Utah Dad and the boys went back to the Animal Hospital to retrieve our puppy and I crawled into bed for a cry. The vet sent them home with some pain medicine and information about the options--none of them good.

We agonized over the options. We all cried. A lot. I called my sister who loves puppies. We commiserated. I called my my mom who offered sympathy and reminded me of the many puppies, dogs, kittens, cats, rabbits, horses, and other creatures that I had loved and lost. In fact, the first puppy I loved (really my dad's German Short-Haired puppy) was hit by a car and killed just two weeks after we got her. I was two years old.

I took Daisy back to the veterinarian today. We decided to put her down. We are heartbroken. We didn't suspect that we would go through the entire emotional roller coaster of owning a puppy in less than two weeks.

There are two things we know for sure. One, we will always love Daisy. She was a darling puppy and really so good. I was genuinely surprised at how quickly she worked her way into our hearts. I will miss cuddling with her. She especially loved to bury her little head into my robe after I took her outside in the middle of the night.

And two, our family is better when we have a puppy. Over the next few months, we will keep our eyes open for another puppy to adopt--a lab or maybe even another beagle.