when the dust settles and the quiet sets in...

 ...and you realize that the old waggy girl is really gone.  

Suri means "Princess", aptly named.  If it meant "Piggy" it would also suit.  She was like a black bear a few years back, when she was heavier.

Sunny last night...she wouldn't eat her food until Camille fed her by hand.  She seems a bit depressed.

She seems confused when the food is poured and there's no longer a wagging, dancing, super over-the-top happy-for-her-food companion there gobbling. Suri would do this ballerina twirl when the food bowl was being set down, could not contain her joy.  She reminded me of Miss Piggy, in her dainty heels, the way she danced for that food.   Sunny doesn't understand, but she knows something's amiss.

That face, those paws.  I miss her dearly.  She used to do this thing in the morning:  hurl herself into the bathroom door, open it right up, barge in, to get pet...her big blocky head bursting in, and I'd say, no, not yet, get out!  She would wait for me to come out, so she could be certain not to miss out on the big morning pets and pats and ear rubs.  Her whole entire body would wag.  Have you ever heard the racket a happy Labrador makes while walking down a hall, the tail whacking?  She was always so glad to see me.  Not just me, everyone.  Even if she barked at you, she would still wag and want a pet.  She was no watchdog.  She might scare people from a distance but if they approached her, ha.  She would forget to bark.

In her last few weeks, she made more noise than ever, with her huffing and panting.  Sunny is just a quieter dog, and it's so strange still to wake up and Suri isn't here.  Sunny likes her morning greeting too, but one pat on the head is good for her.  

So yeah, we knew it was inevitable, and that it was coming, and it happened, and she's gone, and it's much harder than I imagined it would be.  I don't want another dog.  I want her.   

That being said, I am super thankful we were blessed with such a good girl, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat of course, she was a treasure, even if she did get into the garbage and eat the Father's Day cake.  

So you all have a really good evening...and I hope you are surviving all this rain if you live in the north east...rain rain rain!  brr, too!  55 degrees was the high today!  Some sunshine sounds good...