On Friday, November 16, 2007, we lost one of our very best and oldest of friends. Mooky was with us for 14 years, and was only 6 months older than that. Since Doug and I had no kids, she became our special baby. She was with us through it all; miscarriages, graduation, and job loss. She gave us many of our most joyful and memorable times. I hadn't realized what an integral part of my life she was until I had to let her go. My gut reaction was an intense desire to keep her here with me. I hadn't expected that. I've had to let dogs go before,... but not like this. Every day of the last 14 years, almost every minute, she's been there, part of my routine, my life. With her gone it's as if millions of tiny pieces of my heart have been ripped away. I never understood before when people would say they expected a recently passed loved one to walk in the door. It's like when you go on auto pilot while driving; you automatically turn some place because you have so often before.We are 2 people and 3 dogs in one house, yet there seems to be such a hollowness here...
