December has been both a good and bad month. We had to put our St. Bernard Abby down a few weeks ago. She was eleven years old and she lost control of her back legs all of a sudden. She couldn't stand up at all. She wasn't able to get into her dog house or stand up to go the bathroom. I'm not sure if she developed hip dysplasia all of a sudden or if maybe she broke something. She was also breathing heavy. She lived for eleven years which is great for a St. Bernard. It was hard because she's been with us since she was a puppy and Olivia LOVED her. We just explained to her what happened last Sunday. Abby was an outside dog and it's been cold outside so Olivia hadn't been outside to play to see her. Sean told her that Abby had been sick and she went to be with Jesus. It broke my heart because as she was crying she said that she wanted Jesus to bring her back. I still tear up when I think about it. Sean took her out to Abby's kennel and they said a prayer and Olivia turned to Sean and said "it's ok daddy, we'll get a new one". It was cute because she was trying to make him feel better. We probably shouldn't have waited to tell her but it happened before Christmas and then we went home to PA for a week. We leave when it's dark in the morning and get home when it's dark so she hadn't seen Abby recently.
It seems like these things always happen at the worst time. We had to put our other dog Harley down last year the day before we were supposed to leave for vacation in Tennesee. I came home from work and she was suffering. She was dying and I didn't want her to suffer. She was twelve. We are now without any pets and I think we will stay that way for awhile. I think Beau is a little young for a puppy. We talked about getting a smaller dog (Harley was a black lab) and maybe keeping this one in the house when we do. Not too sure about that yet. I always said I would never have a dog in the house again - I can't stand the dog hair.
Christmas was great. Olivia really had fun this year. Both of the kids got a ton of new toys. Our house looks like Toy's R Us. I just finished getting everything put away today. Olivia even got to ride a miniature horse. Our friends Jesse and Shelly and their daughter Alysseia have horses. She had so much fun and it was so nice of them to take her out on Christmas Eve. I missed it because I had to do some last minute shopping. Sean took her but I wish I could have been there after seeing how cute the pictures were.
The week flew by as usual. It's always hard to leave but once we get back to the great weather down here in NC we are fine:)
