Harley

This is one of the harder posts I've had to write. The same day Avery had her piano recital we had to put Harley down. It was so hard! He'd been drinking a ton of water for a few weeks but after I came home from a trip he'd noticeably lost a lot of weight. After a couple of days he stopped eating and I tried different food but also had to strongly persuade him to eat. That lasted only one day. The vet said he had 105 temperature (super high for dogs) and gave him some antibiotics hoping he'd come around.  If not it was two things: a tumor or just old age & his body shutting down.  We had a big decision to make.  He refused to eat for two days. You could see his bones sticking out especially on his head. It broke my heart to watch him struggle to get up and walk around a bit then have to lay down.  Avery hardly left his side the day we decided to put him down. She didn't know about the decision but we all knew he was sick. We decided to say good-bye to him as a family which had every single one of us in tears.  A LOT of tears! I still miss this big baby boy and his adorable face.  We love you and even after 3 weeks we still miss you!  You will always be in our heart and part of our family.

I LOVE this face!  Those eyes grabbed my heart the day we picked him up 5 years ago. He was 3 when we got him. And he shared his birthday with Jake. They were both 8 1/2 years old.

Emily and Harley playing outside together.  He was fetching the stick from her.  It was so funny because it was such a long stick.  It'd touch the ground and fling out of his mouth and Emily would get it again and throw it for him.

This was so funny.  Spencer would lay down to just rest from working so hard and Harley obviously got behind him and "cuddled" the way a 130-pound dog does. He loved Spencer most.

His favorite spot was to sun of the top of the spa; until we tore out the spa.

This was Easter 2010.  Harley was helping Josh find Easter eggs outside.  Such a loyal dog.

Taking a nap in the elephant tent I set up for the kids to play in. 

This face is such a happy one.  We were playing with water balloons as a family and Harley loves to play or bite the water.  He was chasing the water balloons as the kids popped them.  It made him happy.

This picture makes him look so handsome! Oh, how I miss holding his head in my hands and scratching behind those soft ears and kissing his head between his eyes.

Jake aka "Batman" and Harley, "Superdog" saving the backyard and home front from evil doers.

Thank you Harley for the love and being a part of our family.  You were such a loyal dog to our family and kept us safe.  We are grateful for the wonderful memories you gave us.