In Loving, Loyal Memory

Yesterday I took Mina to the vet.  She was put on a medicine that would bring her heart rate down.  They wanted it down from 240-280 beats per minute to 120 beats per minute by Thursday (tomorrow).  Before our appointment, we went down to the pond.  It was 90 degrees outside!

Mina waits for me to catch up

Guarding to the end

These are the last four photos I took of Mina.  She barked to go outside at midnight.  And just like they normally do, Jack and Mina raced out the door to be first to chase off the cats.  After she came back in, she spent the rest of the night sleeping at the end of the hall outside our bedroom doors.  Mark and I started our morning routine of letting dogs out, brewing coffee, and heading out to the porch.  When Mina was finished with her morning trip to the pond, she lay down.  She knew she was dying.  She knew she didn't want to die inside.  And somehow, or was it just a strange coincidence?-she died five feet from where Mark planned to bury her.  She was never alone this morning; there was always someone right next to her, petting her and telling her what a good dog she was and how much she was loved.

Because really, although she drove me crazy, crazy enough to be both the title and address of this blog, she was the best dog. Mark may be my other half (he completes me), but Mina was my shadow and I'm feeling lost without her.