My Silent Companion

When I first met my husband, he had an adorable 3 year old black lab named Cole. While I fell in love with my husband, I also fell in love with his dog. Before the days of kids, I would take him on runs throughout the Upper East or the Foothills of Santa Barbara. We has and is an extremely content dog. He often reminds me of the character Ferdinand from the children's book. A few years after we met, we introduced a Shepard Mix to our family named Sam. For every ounce of mellowness that Cole radiated, Sam matched him with rambunctiousness. They became fast friends, Sam being the dominating pup and Cole the elder wise man. These two dogs magically transitioned with us into life with kids. Their runs became more infrequent. They relished in having two toddlers crawl over them and give them hugs. They had a smorgasbord of table scraps from our two boys. Instead of the dogs being our sole "babies" they learned to share the spotlight with the boys.
There are times that my husband and I are at our wits end with cleaning dog hair up off the couch, feeding them, walking them, picking up dog poop etc. At times, we selfishly have complained how much easier it would be without our two 80lb dogs. All of those negative feelings are diminished when faced with the prospect of losing Cole. We found out this week that his whole body is filled with cancer. Initially we thought he would be around for a few more years upon diagnosis. All of a sudden, he can barely walk, eat or go to the bathroom. My heart breaks for him, our other dog, my kids, my husband and myself. As we celebrate Cole's life and his role in our family, I am reminded that he was my silent companion during the most difficult parts of my life. During my 6 weeks of bed rest during my twin's pregnancy, Cole and Sam never left my side. They both laid on the foot of the bed while I watched hours of Lifetime tv and scrapbooked. During my physical and mental recovery from the loss of our baby daughter, these two dogs were again my silent partners. In a time of extreme loss and sadness, there simple presence brought me comfort. While I am still optimistic that Cole will meet our baby daughter I know that she will know his legacy and the wonderful place he has in all of our hearts.