Ten and One-Half Years - Annie-Girl

This is a post that I cannot even believe I am having to write. For those of you who follow me on social media, you know that my world crumbled last Friday, March 3, 2023.  Our precious Annie-girl, my protector, walking companion, and snow-loving dog became acutely ill on Friday morning.  We had to let her go, and my heart was broken. 

We had noticed her going downhill recently and had even bought a brace for her back legs, as she seemed to be having problems with her mobility.  The brace was really helping her, and we even went for a long walk on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. She was so happy to be able to walk with more support.  

She loved snowstorms - and I do too!

On Tuesday, we had a lovely amount of snow fall, about 6-8", and I took the dogs for a walk. Annie enjoyed the snow in her brace. She was in her element! Snow was her love language. 

On Wednesday morning, with the help of the brace, we walked 2 miles! She pulled the leash out to its full potential as we walked, and never slowed down.  She was so happy to be walking in the snow! That was her last walk on our road. We've walked this road hundreds, maybe thousands of times together. 

On Friday morning, she wouldn't eat. She couldn't get up, and she looked very sad when I asked her if she wanted to walk.  I put in a call to the vet.  

They had me take her temperature, which was 100.4.  They asked about the color of her gums - they were gray - healthy gums are supposed to be pink. She was losing blood somewhere. 

They asked me to bring her right in.  It took a huge effort for Annie and I to get her into my pickup.  She would make it a few steps, and then stop, panting.  I carried her back legs to help her along.  When we got to the vet, they came out and carried her in.  It broke my heart to see my strong Annie-girl being carried into the vet's office. 

After doing some blood work, and then an x-ray, they determined she had a mass around her spleen. An ultrasound confirmed blood leaking into her abdomen.  At this point, she was arching her back, and trying hard to breathe. The mass was hemorrhaging, and she was suffering.  The vet kindly gave us all the time we needed, and I video-called my husband and both kids.  They all got to see her, talk to her, and say goodbye.  As I sat on the cold floor of the vet's office, Annie's head would rest on my legs, and she would look at me so sadly.  She knew we were saying goodbye.  She was always such an intuitive dog - she understood our feelings, and even our thoughts.  She just knew things.  I was sobbing, broken-hearted as we made the decision to let her go. 

The vet came in and she watched him as he worked. She lay her head back on me, and she was gone, now in peace. I brought her home so we could bury her in our pet graveyard under two fir trees on our back acreage.  Tears flowed all day, as different family members and friends called.  I took Riley out to the pickup, and let her sniff the bag.  Riley climbed up into the pickup, sat down beside Annie, and stared straight ahead, like a sentinel. She thought she was just going to stay right there by Annie. It made me cry even more. Dogs understand. They are man's closest friend, next to the Lord.  I think the Lord blessed us with their companionship! 

As I picked up the mail after getting home, this card was in the mail. A dear friend in Texas had sent me a card with some pictures.  I loved the words - God knows what today holds. It comforted me! 

On Saturday, Dan and I worked on digging the hole to bury Annie.  Thankfully, the ground under the fir trees had little frost, and the hole was easily dug. 

Danielle and Zak came over to be with us as we laid Annie under the fir trees, under the snow, on a beautiful Winter's day.  We cried, and laughed and each of us shared memories of Annie and her life with us. Ryan and Alanna were out of town - but they were there in heart. Ryan is going to make a marker for her grave.  We were able to smile because Annie never liked tears.  She wanted us to be happy.  

Here she lies, under the two fir trees, along with the other precious animals that we've buried through the years, a rooster, and two dogs - Roger and Cosmo.  We have been blessed with so many special animals. It breaks my heart that they don't live very long! When they pass, they take a piece of our hearts with them! 

I took this picture of Annie just last week.  We had wandered our back acreage, and she had snow on her nose. She was so happy.  I was too. I had no idea she would leave us so quickly.  She had the most expressive face - when she looked at you, it was as if she looked into your soul. She understood things, and she loved us fiercely.  She was my protector. When I walked I always knew that anything wild or out of hand would have to meet her first.  She would press against me if she thought something wasn't right.  I can't even explain how deeply I feel about the loss of her presence in our lives.  

She was a Queen among dogs, a gift from the Lord to our family.  And it was time to let her go.  My heart hopes that - because there are horses in heaven - we'll get to meet again.  The Lord knows how much I'd love that :) 


Thank you for letting me share my Annie-Girl's life with you. I am thankful we have Miss Riley, she is a sweet companion to us, and she is eager to love us, and help us heal from our sorrow.  She is sorrowful too.  She won't leave my side and looks quite worried if I have to leave at all. We all miss Annie. She was just such a precious girl. There will never be another like her.  

This is a video I made of our Annie-Girl, with pictures from when she was a puppy until we lost her last Friday. I found some wonderful dog songs to accompany the pictures, and while her story is different from the stories shared in the songs, she loved a lot of the same things they did. 

It was healing for me to go through and see the amazing memories we had of her for many years, and the thousands of miles we walked together.  

She protected Danielle from the moose in our woods on a walk many years ago.  She would not let Danielle advance, she never charged or barked either.  She knew instinctively what to do.  She was our protector, our first line of defense against whatever we might encounter on our walks.  Her first thought was always to protect us.  She was a GOOD DOG as one of the songs sings about, and I can't even express how much we miss her.  Riley has been very clingy and nervous since she passed. It will take time for all of us to grieve her loss.  

Thank you for reading her story today.  We were blessed to have her for ten and one-half years - my heart cries because it was just not long enough.  In my grief, the Lord showed me that Annie's love for us was unconditional, it was all about serving and loving.  When I would be working in the yard, Annie never took her eyes off me.  She gave us everything. And in this way, her love for us should be like our love for the Lord. If we could only never take our eyes off of Him, serve Him unconditionally, and love Him without fail, what a precious relationship we would have with Him. I think of Enoch - he walked with God, and he was not, because God took him.  His walk was so faithful, so pure that God wanted him to come to be with him.  

I want my walk with the Lord to be like Annie's walk was with me 

- never take my eyes off Him

- always be ready for any adventures together

- trust Him in every instant

- be willing to obey in all instances

- to protect my relationship with Him at all costs

- to walk with Him faithfully and joyfully

- to be grateful for every little blessing along the way

- to be faithful and loving to the very end. 

As this analogy formed in my heart, I realized the Lord was using Annie's life to minister to me, and to see how the love a dog has for his owner should resemble our love for Him.  And for that reason - and because there are horses in heaven - Jesus will be riding on one, so there must be other animals too - I believe I will see my sweet Annie-girl again.  That gives me such great comfort :) 

Revelation 19:11
Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.

See you in heaven, Annie-Girl!