As promised, below is our tribute to our beautiful fur babies who were my sixth and seventh rescues from GDRNC:

September 19 was a fateful day for the Waterman/Berryman household: we said goodbye to our two beloved Great Danes. I had only recently and jubilantly announced Zoey’s tenth birthday on Facebook. Two days later, she was diagnosed with an aggressive bone cancer and given a prognosis of six weeks. She barely made it six days! Her fiercely independent spirit was matched only by her connection to Bill: she was a devoted daddy’s girl!  Our chowhound survived several surgeries/maladies and lived with an autoimmune disease while relishing her treats (and she knew the very word!) The pack was very important to Zoey and she monitored all of us very carefully.

Rufus, the goofus dog, had been on borrowed time due to a benign but inoperable tumor on his elbow which had grown to the size of a personal watermelon. However, that didn’t stop this boy we lovingly referred to as our “idiot savant” from living life large—at nearly 10 years old he still was fascinated with hunting lizards, continued to open dead bolts and locked doors throughout the house and forever displayed his FOMO (fear of missing out) about anything and everything happening around him.

Knowing our sad situation, Granite Bay Vet Clinic referred us to Constant Companion, an in-home euthanasia service offered by Dr. Jackie Conners. For many reasons, she endorsed our suggestion that they should be put down together. We adopted them on the same day from the Great Dane rescue of N. California over the ‘14 Labor Day weekend and it seemed fitting that they would pass together nine years later. Dr. Conners helped us give our precious pets this last, compassionate gift—peaceful at home, on their beds and in our arms.

We are beyond heartbroken–literally doubly so!  Grief is the price we pay for love–which we experienced in abundance for and from our canine kids. Hug your fur baby a little tighter: there’s ever enough time with those we love.