Olivia Benson Marsala

Olivia was a mixed lab / chow. My husband brought her home from the fire station and I fell head over heels for her. I even taught her a few commands in Spanish. We broke the cardinal rule of "no dogs in the bed" a time or two or three or four. That was until we were caught one Saturday morning with three granddaughters and Olivia under the covers when my firefighter husband arrived home from his shift. He mellowed. He says to this day "it was quite a site to see all of us girls in deep sleep turned every which way". After my husband was diagnosed with asthma, I was blessed to be able to share custody of Olivia with a dear family who had a special needs daughter. Olivia was a great companion for this young child. My joint custody family continued to bring Olivia to my place of work / home for "quality time" until she became ill. Olivia awoke one December morning unable to stand. It was discovered that she had a large cancerous tumor on her spine. I think of Olivia every day.