Our beloved family dog Chico was laid to rest this week. We have had him before having children and before we got married. He's been in the family since 2002. That's almost 10 years! I remember adopting him as soon as I graduated college as a sign of my independence. I wanted to take care of someone as I felt like I was an official adult in the real world.When I adopted him, the SPCA didn't have an exact age on Chico but they estimated he was about 4 years old. That means he must have been real close to 14yrs old. Just the thought of seeing him go was really hard for our family. We had to have lots of conversations with Ati to prepare her for what was to come. Thankfully when the day came she handled it very well and surprisingly I did to. No tears were shed. It was a different story for my dear hubby though : ( He had to walk away several times to compose himself emotionally. I held it together pretty well until that night when everyone was asleep and laid in bed. I couldn't help but think how scary it must have been for him to be in a strange cold room and go out all alone like that with someone he didn't even know. Just typing this out is hard. We miss him dearly.
Chico, we miss you! I've had to sweep the kitchen floor after dinner every night since you've been gone...I am gonna miss you picking up the kids food scraps and crumbs. I never thought I'd say this but we miss you under the kitchen table waiting with anticipation for the kids to drop something on accident. We took that for granted! I miss hanging out with you after the kids are in bed and you lounge with mom and dad on the couch at night. I miss your bark when you hear something outside. And sadly I even miss the scratching on the patio door letting us know you need to go outside or need to come back in. We worried you would be jealous when we had our first child but you were so sweet to protect her and play with her as if you were an uncle. The same with our second. You were a part of our family and will always be in our memories!
Family Christmas Picture (before kids)
Chico keeping watch on driveway while Ati played
Chico checking out the snow here at home several years ago
Lounging on the couch
Keeping the kids company
Hanging out under the tree this Christmas!
Chico often traveled with us especially when we went camping!
