*goodbye*

it's hard to put into words just how important Noah was to me. in 1999, i told b i wanted a dog. he wasn't sure about it because he grew up with the thought that he was allergic to them. we lived in ST. Louis at the time and i was working while b was going to school to get his second degree. b was gone quite a lot which meant i was home alone...quite a lot. i had a co-worker who told me about some labrador puppies that needed a home. there were only two left, a chocolate female and a black male. b and i thought about it and we talked about it a lot...i finally convinced him it was a good idea. we told my co-worker we wanted the chocolate female. the day before we were going to pick her up, my co-worker called and told us that the female had been taken by another family. b and i decided we would take the male, we talked about names and chose one. we practiced saying that name that night. i will never forget it. the next day, we drove to Pocahontas, IL to a little farm out in the middle of no where. when we pulled up to the house, a man walked out of his home and greeted us. we told him we were there for the last puppy. he informed us that the puppy was the runt of the litter and that three other families had come to see him and none of them wanted him. a moment later, he whistled and over the top of a hill came two puppies...the chocolate female and the black male. i don't remember what the female was doing because all i could see was this adorable little black speck coming towards us with big floppy ears.  my heart would never be the same from that day forward. we named him, Noah. he was 8 weeks old. he was covered in ticks and dirt and shaking with fear. we took him home, gave him a bath or two, picked all the ticks off of him and showed him all the love we had to give.

Noah had a huge heart and showed us all the love he could give. he was my sweet sweet pal, my protector, my buddy. he was incredibly smart and there were times where his actions almost felt human like. he filled our lives with many many smiles and so much laughter. 

on Saturday, April 28th, we had to say goodbye to Noah. my heart broke into a million pieces. he had been with us for almost 13 years but i knew it was time. he had ailments that would not heal. there was nothing we could do for him but give him peace. people have told me that they think Noah stuck around until after Oliver came home just to make sure everything would be okay. i believe with all my heart that this is true. that is something that my Noah would do for me and b. he was more then just a dog to us, he was a gift from God.

 it has been hard to adjust to not having him here at home. i miss my Noah's sweet face, his leaning hugs, his super soft ears and my pal who greeted me every morning with kisses and tail wags. i will never forget Noah, there will always be a special place in my heart just for him.

Goodbye my pup.