I write this with much sadness in my heart.  I lost my dear friend, Max on Friday night.  He became very ill and went downhill so fast.  I miss him so very much.  My dear, sweet, beautiful Max who listened to me every day and loved me just the same!  He would guard me and never let any of the “noises” get me; he would bark at the noises and scare them away.

I had no idea how my life revolved around him; he was such a HUGE part of my world.  My mornings started with him waking me up to snuggle, then up we would get at 5:00 and go outside.  We ate our breakfast and took our vitamins.  While I drank my chai tea, he would sit beside me and we would check e-mail and watch the news.  Then out we went again.  If it was light out, we took a short walk and then I came in and got ready for work.  He and Emmet would lie on the rug outside the shower and greet me when I was all done!   I actually had a rug and a towel outside the shower so they could lay on one and I could step on the other; after I stepped over them to get there!  While I was getting dressed Max would steal my socks and I would have to chase him to get them back!  Always wagging his tail, so I knew he was just playing me!  And I let him!  We took one more trip outside before I left for work and then I would gather my stuff, he would lie down and look sad and then I would give him a kiss good bye, get my “Max goodbye kiss” and off I would go.  I always told him that Jess would be there in the afternoon to take him out and I knew when I got home; there he would be, waiting to greet me and love me.  I always looked forward to that greeting and loved it every day!  We would go out in the back yard and play a bit, then come in, have a treat and get ready for dinner.   Sometimes we would go for a walk or a car ride after dinner to run some errands.  His favorite errands were the bank and Walgreen’s; there were always treats for him there!

One of my favorite “Max times” was either the Eve of Christmas Eve or on Christmas Eve night we would go for a car ride and look at the decorations.  Sometimes the decorations were so bright and some had sound and he would growl at them!  I always got a kick out of that!  We always had fun at Christmas time! I took that ride tonight by myself and cried the whole way, talking to my buddy in heaven, knowing that he was watching over me.  Emmet and I are kind of lost right now and I am very glad we have each other!!

I have so many wonderful Max stories.  I will share them intermittently on the blog.  But for now, I will wish you a Very Merry Christmas and ask you to love your pet a little extra today; perhaps an extra hug or two!