Nala

My sweet Nala was my best friend, shadow and my entire heart. I met her when she was 2 weeks old and knew she was coming home to me. Our bond was unlike any I’ve ever experienced. She always had a way of making everything in life seems so much easier. We were together every day 24/7. The “Velcro breed” is the exact description of a German shepherd. She felt her job was to lick away every tear I shed. She brought sunshine into my life during my darkest times. She laid at my feet after a bi-lateral mastectomy and 5 reconstruction surgeries. If I moved, she was up and following me. The joke in my house was we shared an umbilical cord. If it stretched too far, we both felt it. She wasn’t a service dog but would warn me before any seizure by placing her head in my lap, like a tight hug, so I wouldn’t get up beforehand and risk an injury. When I learned she had Dengerative Myelopathy, I was devistated. We took one day at a time. When her liver functions were 1000% over normal limits, I knew I didn’t have much time left. Letting her go was one of the hardest things I had to do. I miss her with every fiber of my being. My life wouldn’t have been the same without her. God gave me a gift and I feel so blessed. She had many nicknames but the one that really stuck was, “Tater Tot”. She was beautiful, funny, goofy and seriously sassy. My house is eeriely quiet. The door bell rings, and there’s no bark. Her soggy, spit soaked toys are no longer dropped in my lap and everywhere I look, I see her, or smell her cherry blossom shampoo. Her presence is all around me. My heart hurts and my sadness is great. I know she’s finally at peace.