Nick: A Good Dog

Nick died last week. His cancer progressed very quickly, as we had expected it would. His last month was full of extra love and snuggles and treats. His pain medicine did its job and he was happy and pain-free to the end. We miss our fur baby very much. Nick was a perfect blend of goofball and guard dog. He made us laugh--a lot--and we always felt safe with him around. He was the dog who always knew just what we needed, whether we knew it or not.

My favorite Nick story is from the morning of my first ultrasound with tiny baby Annie. After our miscarriage, we were of course very, very nervous about this ultrasound and whether or not we would see a heartbeat. Nick chose that morning to escape from the dog park in our neighborhood. The Gent went traipsing through the woods after him. I had to go to the doctor's office by myself and I was now anxious about Nick instead of the baby. The Gent called me while I was in the waiting room and said "I found Nick and we're on our way." The Gent walked into the doctor's office in mismatched work boots (samples from his Dad's work) and dirty jeans and I was just so glad he was there. Our ultrasound showed us one tiny, growing baby with a strong heartbeat! We walked out to the parking deck where that rascal of a Nick had been hanging out in the cab of the pickup truck, covered in burrs (see pictures below), tongue hanging out, and happy as he could be!