Our old dog died recently. Her name was Ladybug. She was a German Shepard/Australian Shepard mix.

She was beautiful. 

She died at home, probably in her sleep, as comfortably as possible. I thank God for that.
She'd been going steadily downhill and had almost zero quality of life and we'd made the decision to have her put to sleep. We were going to take her the day she died.  I can't say how thankful we are that she didn't have to be scared or stressed or spend her last few minutes with people she didn't know or love.  My friend Patsy described her as regal and I'd have to agree. Except when she was scolding the other dogs for having fun and ended up running around like a goober herself.

We adopted her when she was 11 and she died when she was 13 and the only regret we ever had about adopting that already aged Lady was that we never knew her as a young dog and didn't get to have her in our lives as long as we would have liked.  I bet she was the most adorable puppy you ever saw, with big black spots and floppy ears.  We miss her, but Heaven's a better place for having her and we're better people for having known her. 

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   My stepsons' Mom sent me a gift today. A US Army Christmas tree ornament.  I can't tell you all how this really touched me.  This lady and I aren't close and aren't likely to ever be, but we're certainly not enemies.  We both love her children and that creates a bond where there might not otherwise be one.  The idea that she thought of my son and therefore me and sent that ornament made me feel good all over and I just wanted to tell y'all about it.