Casey

This is my Casey Boy.

Last night he went to be with Brad and his brother, Cooper.

Casey, Cooper and Brad were best friends.

Casey loved being in the mountains. He loved going on horse rides and four-wheeler rides. He'd eat anything. (I'm talking rocks, soda cans, rodents, horse nail clippings....anything people.) He'd roll in anything stinky he could find, play in the mud and bathe in the river.

You know how sometimes, when a dog dies, parents lie to their kids and tell them that they went to live in a home where they have lots of room to run and play?

Casey really lived that life.

He had nearly two acres of space that was all his. He had a family who loved him, played with him and constantly took him out to the mountains.

(This is Casey meeting our baby colt, Jasmine)

He was the best family dog. I always said that if he didn't stink or shed, I'd have him in the house all the time. One night, he was sleeping in the house (as my guard dog, since Brad was out of town) and he was sick. He got up and rushed to the tile floor to throw up so he didn't get it on the carpet.

He knew when I was scared at home and he'd stay right by me everywhere I went, taking care of me.

He was great to Leah. She sat on him, rode on him, pulled his tail, stuck her whole hand in his mouth and her finger in his eye and he just loved her.

Of course, Casey was a bird dog at heart. It's what these guys loved and lived for.

When I found out that Casey was sick, Mike and I took him pheasant hunting one last time. Mikey loves Casey just about as much as we do and he and Nicole have been so great to help me take care of him.

I was devastated when I woke up this morning to find out that he was gone. But I'm glad that Brad has his dog back. I know they missed each other. I really do believe that all dogs go to heaven.

A few positives that I am grateful for:

I didn't have to put him down. I'd ben wrestling with that choice for a while now and almost did it twice. I tried to keep him going with his diet and meds. As long as he wasn't suffering and still happy, I wanted to keep him around. When I found out he was sick, I prayed that if he was going to die that he would just go peacefully because I REALLY didn't want to make that choice.

He just laid down in my garage and went to sleep.

He died in his own home. He loved this house and this yard. I'm going to move soon and I was worried about taking him to a smaller yard and containing him to a small kennel. I know he wouldn't be as happy there. This will always be his home.

So, that's it. 2011 had only two more days left and it decided to hit me one last time. I swear I'm done. I'm determined that 2012 cannot, will not be as awful as last year.

5 deaths and my life and future changing in every single way possible.

Yeah. That's enough for a while.