.........I have my first L/O for 2008 to share, I really love how it has turned out, very simple but beautiful & special. The photo of Lily, Mackenzie & Dakota was taken on 5th January & is just so sweet.
It's taken a little while to actually come back & want to update as we've all been quite devastated at home for the last week.
Last Sunday we lost our beautiful & very loved husky Dakota, it was all so fast & unexpected. Craig had taken him to the vet as he had developed a cough was given some antibiotics & told quite optimistically that "that should do it". Well after a couple of days on the antibiotics & no visible improvement, they went back to see the vet again, who this time suggested that under anaesthetic Dakota have a tube put down his throat to see if there was anything lodged in there to cause the cough. Well it went pretty much downhill from there & real fast too. The vet unfortunately didn't find an obstruction but a massive pooling of blood, definitely not good. Then the x rays he took showed an abundance of huge tumour masses around his heart & lungs & blood tests revealed that Dakota was severely anaemic due to the huge blood loss. Basically in a nutshell the diagnosis was there was nothing we could do except take him home, love & care for him for as long as he had.
We brought Dakota home on the 5th January to play with the kids, took lots & lots of photos & spent as much time as we could with him. By Saturday night his whole mood had changed & we knew that he really didn't have long.
That Saturday was such a blessing & I really do believe Dakota knew how much we all love him & how important he was to our family. I sat outside with him most of the night, petrified that he'd die alone out in the yard & trying to keep his fluids up.
Our beautiful boy lost his life & therefore ended his suffering around midday on Sunday 6th January. The last week at times has gone by as a blur, filled with much shock & sadness for us all & many, many tears.
Dakota was a few months short of 8yrs old & a wedding present from myself to Craig. I still remember him choosing me at the pet shop. He was a most remarkable dog, so gentle in nature, obedient & a wonderful companion, never far from the girls as they played in the yard.
Just a few of the many gorgeous & special photos taken of Dakota
The day we brought Dakota home (2000)
Lily & Dakota in the front yard at our old place (2004)
Mackenzie & Dakota at Umina Beach (2006)
Christmas Day 2007
January 5th 2008
We all miss you Dakota & know that you are shining down on us from up there in "doggy beach" heaven.
Thank you always for the joy & happiness you brought into our lives.
May you rest in peace.
