Farewell, sweet Phoebe

This weekend, my sister and her family had to say goodbye to their 13 year old black lab, Phoebe. She was also known as the miracle dog in their household. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. At that point, my sister and her husband made a decision not to treat the cancer, instead letting her live out what were thought to be her final few days at home with her family. Somehow, she bounced back. Time and again, she rallied after each and every complication. Every time I saw her I figured it was our last time together. But then she kept surprising me! She had certainly slowed over the last three years, and started to look like an old dog with her gray beard and stiff joints. But she was always up for chasing a ball, and even when we were at our cabin last summer she somehow found enough energy she to spend the day jumping off the dock into the lake chasing sticks.

I'm feeling especially sad for my niece and my nephews. I remember so clearly what it was like to lose a pet as a child. They don't know life without Phoebe. She was like one of their siblings.

Farewell, sweet Phoebe. I'll miss you!