{"id":1170,"date":"2013-03-25T05:00:21","date_gmt":"2013-03-25T09:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hibbets.net\/blog\/?p=1170"},"modified":"2013-03-24T22:24:48","modified_gmt":"2013-03-25T02:24:48","slug":"today-we-celebrate-dot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hibbets.net\/blog\/2013\/03\/25\/today-we-celebrate-dot\/","title":{"rendered":"Today, we celebrate Dot"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Spoiler alert, you may need a tissue or two for this post. Just sayin.<\/em><\/p>\n

Life is short folks, and we take so many little things for granted everyday. When I come home from work, I have four, happy, energetic Border Collies greeting me. Whether I’ve had a great day, a super busy day, or a not-so-great day, tails are wagging and Dot, Nat, Sox, and Rex are excited to see me. When I come home today, our oldest Border Collie, Dot, won’t be there to say hello.<\/p>\n

Dot<\/a> was a graduation present for Merri Beth and is a registered Border Collie (ABC 175100) She was born on March 28, 2000 and we celebrated her birthday, and life, yesterday. She had a great 13 years with us, 91 in dogs years. She was my first frisbee dog and our first “child.” Maybe that’s a dog owner thing? Dot is a part of our family.<\/p>\n

We’ve known for a while that Dot didn’t have much longer with us. The family has been giving her extra treats and hugs. Our vet, Dr. Grant, diagnosed Dot with liver cancer a few weeks ago and told us she only had a few more weeks.<\/p>\n

\"Dot\"<\/a>Over the last few weeks, Dot’s been getting a little slower, had trouble going up and down the stairs, and has been resting a lot. We don’t want it to get to the point where Dot has too much difficulty getting around or starts suffering.<\/p>\n

Deep down, I think she knows what’s going on. I’ve cried every night for the past week, thinking about today. Each day gets a little worse. Thinking about “the last time” for this and that. And instead of being sad about it, I want to celebrate the joy that Dot has brought to our family.<\/p>\n

Dot gave us our second Border Collie, Natalie. And they love to watch TV together. They watch football, basketball, and tennis, but don’t care much for the home shopping channel. Dot’s been the momma dog as Nat, Bella, Sox, and Rex became part of our “thundering herd.” We loved to take Dot to the beach. She would hop through the breaking waves and swim if she couldn’t touch the bottom, chasing after her toys and bringing them back to one of us for more fetching.<\/p>\n

Dot was awesome with kids. Very gentle and curious. In fact, the day we brought Zander back from the hospital, she was intrigued, yet obedient. The best part about Dot is that she brought joy to our lives. And many, many great memories. It’s sad to say good-bye, but it’s the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

We love you Dot. Let the good times roll. Please help us celebrate Dot!<\/p>\n\n\t\t