eddie

grace and i mourned so much after our sweet dog george died. weeks went by & so many times i left the adoption shelters empty-handed & discouraged not finding the "right" dog. one day i saw this tiny dog lying on a cot, so small i almost missed him. he was stuck in the last cage of the big dog area. he timidly came towards me, head down & tail slightly wagging. he was so skinny that his hip & rib bones stuck out,looking like his skin barely draped over them, his little face sunken, looking so forlorn. he licked my fingers through the gate. it was my mom's birthday & i took him home. i named him eddie after my late brother. he clung to me as if for life, & licked my face,so happy to be adopted. when he entered the door, grace was standoffish for a moment. they sniffed & began to play. eddie was very fast, never seemed to tire. he jumped in bed & from one couch to another. our home was happy again. six weeks later everything changed. eddie's ability to walk declined dramatically as well as his energy level. he could barely walk, much less play with grace. many trips to the vet and university gave no clue as to why. spinal? birth defect? abuse? euthanasia was not an option because he wasn't in pain. he strolled with us in a carriage and swam in the lake. soon the doctors found a tumor in his mouth. one year later on mom's birthday eddie went to the rainbow bridge. our heartache was unbearable but not having wonderful memories of him would be worse