It’s been eight days since we said goodbye to Lala, our dog. I’ve been cleaning this week—a bittersweet task—washing rugs and vacuuming her hair from the tufts in the couch and everywhere else I couldn’t get ahead of in her almost twelve years with us. As I work, I think of her life.
Lala was a miracle dog. She survived the North Minneapolis tornado of 2011 as an abandoned puppy. Someone scooped her up and brought her to an animal rescue, and we adopted her on June 5, 2011. The five month old was skinny and missing fur in patches from mites and neglect, but it’s amazing what food, meds, and love can do.
On December 2, 2020, a car going 40 mph on our residential street hit Lala. By a miracle, she lived, with only bruises to show from the incident. And God gave us twenty more months with her.
A sharp decline in Lala’s health shocked us last week. The vet at the emergency clinic ran tests, and our girl was already unresponsive as we listened to the news of advanced cancer throughout her body. We untethered her from our lives that same day, August 3, 2022, the farewell necessary and heartbreaking.
Today, we’re grateful. We’re grateful for the beginning, the middle, and even the ending, knowing the gift of her life was good.
Enjoy this photo album today of a life well-loved.
