When you know it's the right decision - and it still breaks your heart

I haven't felt like writing much as we have had to cope with the loss of Jaas, our Viszla girl. We adopted Jaas 14 years ago from the Viszla rescue, as companion to our shy boy, Max. She was feisty and independent, fun and loving. Lately, though, we had watched and worried about her declining health (no surprise at her ancient age of 15 - in human years it would be about 105).

Jaas' had good moments and not so good ones, especially getting up was harder and painful for her. We were just so scared that the time would come where she couldn't get up any more and we would have to put her through a lot of pain and stress until we found an emergency vet.

So - I made the appointment for Dr. Molle (our regular vet who does house calls) to come last week. The animals know and like him, so there was no stress involved. He gently gave her the first sedative, then a stronger one, and then the final. Jaas passed away gently, and I hope she felt our love until the end.

It was the right decision, but still, it broke our hearts. Yes, our animals shouldn't outlive us, but that is just a small consolation. The bigger one is that we took her out of a kennel and into our home, and she had a happy life. Godspeed, Jaas. We miss you.

Jaas adored JP, and was nice to Julius (the cat), even if he sometimes annoyed her.