After 17 years of sharing love and smiling and simply loving life, Athena passed on yesterday.
She and I kind of fell in love with one another. She had lived a full life even before she mt me. She was already 15 years old when Marley bit her, which is the whole reason why Rose and I met in the first place. So sweet and beautiful and without a doubt unable to hurt another animal. She was so feminine and loving. It was last year that she had 5 surgeries dealing with cancer and the Marley incident. It was really intense to the point that we basically put in hospice during that time. So we treated her like a queen for the last 10 months. She knew she was treated differently I think. But during this time, she and I just fell in love with on another. We traveled across the country together with her relying on me to lift her into the trailer and into the truck. She had this look that she gave me that made me feel so wonderful. She was always smiling with her big tongue out. She could speak to you with the way she moved her ears. She was just about one of the most loving creatures I have ever met. I loved being able to be her traveling partner this summer. I guess I just felt as though she was invincible. I still see her smiling brightly and jumping up and down with her front legs for treats. I see her lying on her side and digging her heads into the sheets grunting and groaning loving the belly scratches. There were so many little things that she and I shared with one another.....I'll miss that.
We knew that the day would come, but I don't think that we can ever be totally prepared to say goodbye to a loved one. So now she is no longer physically here, but will forever be in our memories. So, it is new to me, this experience. It is new to feel this way. It is different than even what I dealt with when my grandparents passed. It is so different, and I assume every time will be different and special in its own way.
We will miss you Athena!!!
We love you,
your Dad,
Andrew
