* Danielle Maria Louisa: A girl's best friend..

Maggie - her happy self!

It has taken me a while to post a blog... I've had plenty to say, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.. Last Wednesday, August 22, my long time friend/pup died. We knew it was coming_ she was getting old, but I guess I was never prepared enough for the heartbreak it left me.

It all started about.... 14 some years ago. (we aren't completely sure when we got her) ..But my aunt and uncle lived in Ashland, Nebraska and they owned a basset hound. ...They received a phone call one night and someone asked them if they were missing their dog. Nope. It wasn't there dog. ...A few days later they called back again and asked if they wanted to take the dog or else it was gonna be put down. WHAT?!?! ...they were gonna put down a perfectly healthy dog? :( How awful! So soon after they received her, we came down to visit. I was about 8 which would make Nick about 6... OF COURSE WE WANTED HER!!! :D Sooo we took her home. I can remember very vividly the ride home, how we were trying to pick out a name. Maggie it was. ...What baffles my mind though is_ Who honestly wouldn't want her? Who in the world would just dump her on the side of the rode and leave? It was a busy highway...it was no accident.

That thoughtless act, however, gave me one of the best dogs I could ever imagine! ... her, Nick, and I went on many adventures together. Too many to write about here... we created some amazing memories together. It was the three of us who went out to the pond and fell through because Nick and I had to save her, of course. :) We went in the trees all the time... she made us feel safe. It was funny too..everytime my family and I went camping we had to take her along, she wouldn't have it any other way... and when we were out on the jet skis, so was she. :) Can you imagine? A little basset hound riding a jet ski! hehe .... Every day my brother and I would get on the bus, she was right there waiting with us. When the bus took off I saw her run the other direction to grandma's! :) ...and then she knew approximately when we got home from school, because she would say goodbye to grandma and come running home to us! She really, really loved us. We were her people.

Then...one day my mom, dad, Nick, and I were eating supper.. I was in 6th grade.. my dad was terribly sick at the time.. and a kid came to the door and told us he had hit our Maggie. She was just lying there... and I thought that was it. Then... ten minutes later... she popped her head up. It was a miracle to me. She had survived and lived for another ten or so years! That dog was meant to be in my family's life. When my brother and I went through good or bad... she was there for almost all of our tragedies.

Maybe you don't care about my story, but I'm sure most of you have your own with a pet. Isn't it crazy how much you love them? How a dog or cat can be your best friend? How much a dog can truly love you? They devote their lives to us.. they know love more than we do, I think. I knew one day this would happen... but I guess I never thought one day would actually get here. or perhaps..I was HOPING it would never get here.

All she ever did was love us...never hate. When you get mad at your pets, they are sad, but then... they still love you! I just pray she is great and healthy and happy now. All dogs go to Heaven right?? How could they not? So innocent. <3 They know not what they do wrong.