Kaya

One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was to have our dog Kaya euthanized this morning.

Kaya was a maltese dog who has been with our family for nine years. She was a great dog... very loving, never mean nor nasty... just about as nice of a dog as you would ever want for a pet.

In recent months however, she had developed an eye infection and that was painful for her. In addition, she had been having hip problems as well. Then recently, she got sick and refused to eat. She only drank water and that was the only thing sustaining her for an entire week. She shivered all the time this past week, but she refused to be covered with a blanket...

At the vet today we weighed her and found that within a week's time, she had dropped from 16 lbs to 11.6 lbs.

Kaya loved everyone. She always barked happily whenever anyone came to visit and barked sadly when they left as well. She didn't like people leaving... she always wanted them to stay. Other than those times, rarely would she ever bark. We never needed to use a leash on Kaya even if we were outside doing gardening work because she would never wander away farther than to the edge of our property. She'd always come back if we called to her. And, she would never bark at other dogs either. She would just look at them and sometimes hide behind us to protect her!

I was with her at the end. The doctor had a difficult time trying to find a vein that had not collapsed due to her weakened state. Finally after four attempts, he was able to inject her. Within less than a few seconds, she was gone. While I did not think I wanted to be in the room when she was put to sleep, at the last moment, I knew I needed to be there to give her the assurance that I did not abandon her.

After I got home, I could not help but to cry for the loss of our dog. Kaya was my constant companion. Since I am often home working on the images from weddings I have photographed, I saw her more than anyone in our family. I fed her, took her out when she needed to relieve herself and took her to any vet appointments she needed.

This year has been really difficult for me. In one year's time, I lost one uncle, two aunts and now my beloved dog.

Kaya was a great dog and I will never forget her. I love you Kaya...