Good-Bye Ruby Tuesday.

I will share more when I am feeling up to it, emotionally, but this weekend we said good-bye to sweet Ruby. Her health was failing and we were at a point where we had to choose to try to treat her or, at the age of 12, almost 13, if we could let her go. It was one of the hardest choices we've ever made together as a family, and she is now and will be missed incredibly. She is the dog we raised from puppyhood, who changed peoples' perceptions of pit bulls and who gave so much faithfulness, love, and devotion to our family. She was Rohan's best friend, and for our son who's not old enough yet to understand, I mourn more than I do for Darrick and Luca and myself. She was everything a family dog should be and more, and mere words cannot express how heartsick we are over saying good-bye to her a mere 15 months after making the same decision for Miss Piggy.

What an immeasurable blessing to be entrusted with the heart and the life of a dog. They give us more than we could ever give them and in return we owe them this one gift of setting aside our mortal emotions and attachments and freeing their souls to run on endless green lawns once more.

Rohan has been asking about her, and when he says to me, "Where's Ruby?" my heart knows the answer is "With her sister Piggy, giving herself to the earth once more. She, like her sister, is everywhere."

Rest In Peace, Sweet Ruby love.
May, 1999 - October 1, 2011