Sunday, April 22, 2012

Day Twenty-Seven: Pets


day twenty-seven: pets

well, it's been SO long since I last had a blog entry... I'm not quite sure even how to recap. I just looked, and it's been over 2 months. It's amazing just how much happens in that short period of time. Last post, I was preparing to head to Virginia for my interview at Regent. The interviews went extremely well, and I had a really great trip. I found out a few weeks later that I had been accepted into the Ph.D program, and life felt really, really awesome. 

I even skipped blogging on my birthday! I turned 25 on February 19th, and I had a great celebration with my family. As one of my birthday presents, Ryan got me a month of unlimited classes for BarreAmped. I'm now almost finished with my 2nd month of classes, and I'm down 4 inches in my waist! I love it, and I plan on continuing that healthy part of my life :)

I'm still working at the same place... I've been there almost 5 months now - hard to believe! I'm really loving my work. That's about it for the past couple months: throw in a few concerts, trips to Hot Springs, Northwest Arkansas, Dallas, birthdays, Easter, and construction on my parents' new house.... we've been busy!



So since I'm determined to finish this "Blog Challenge," today's post is supposed to be about "pets." What a sad time for me to have to talk about this! It's been 8 days, and my heart is still heavy. 

Last Saturday, my family and I put down our family dog, Freckles. It's still very hard to believe that he's not around, chasing his tail or barking at random noises. It had to be one of the most difficult things I've had to experience, but I'm also really at peace knowing that he's not in any pain anymore. 

we all got to be in the room with him, holding and loving on him while he drifted off to sleep. We stayed in the room and said goodbyes and cried as a family. there are few times I've seen my father cry, and that day was one of them. All he could say was, "He was a good dog." 

Needless to say, I was a wreck that day and a few days leading up to then. It's so hard knowing that something bad is coming. I think I'd almost do better with bad things just happening all of the sudden... At any rate, my tear production was at an almost all-time high. Freckles meant so much to me...

When i was a kid, I literally BEGGED my parents for a dog. it was all I wanted... I'm not sure where the love for the dog came from, but it was there and not going away. I remember exactly when we got Freckles, too. I was 12, and I was going to bed with my sister the night before Christmas Eve. We were talking before we went to sleep, and my sister said, "Carrie, you know that you're probably not going to get a dog for Christmas, right?" My sweet sister preparing me so I wouldn't be heartbroken that year. I sighed and said that I knew that was probably true.

The next morning, I might have gotten the biggest surprise of my life. There's a picture of me somewhere that shows my reaction of COMPLETE SHOCK as my mom and dad tossed a sweet, adorable little cocker spaniel puppy on the bed and said WAKE UP!!! I was in utter disbelief. I don't know if my parents could have given me a better Christmas gift. I immediately fell in love with my puppy, and we were absolute best friends.

 isn't he just ADORABLE?!?!


 at my 13th bday party.... and there's Keely in the background <3

before a Junior High dance :)

From that point on, Freckles became my constant companion. He was a workout partner, secret keeper, sleepover buddy, fuzzy pillow, entertainer, trick doer (I even taught him how to sneeze on command), loyal, loving dog. There are so many of my favorite memories that involve him. Every house party, every holiday, every event... he was there, and he loved being around everyone. 

Saying goodbye to my dog had to be one of the hardest things I've ever done... because he was more than a dog to me. From ages 12 to 25, he was a fixture in my life and was my friend at times when I felt like I had none. He was there when I cried alone in my room as a teenager and when I put on my cap and gown to graduate. He was there as I experienced so many life milestones over the past 13 years, and the difficult part is adjusting to life without him around now. I just miss my puppy.

 bathtime!

 such a cutie


 what a sweet face



he didn't care for the hankies too much, but he looked so cute :)

no matter how cold it is, there's ALWAYS time to chase a squirrel :)




 he always managed to end up under all the paper at Christmas :)

 :) 

September 24th -- Freckles' birthday meant a trip to Petco every year!!!! 


 Bella loved that pup!


my best friend. 

 our last birthday trip...

So here is my pet. he's the best pet I've ever had... and he will always hold an extremely special place in my heart. I know some doubt that pets are in heaven, but I'd like to think that they are. If so, I know that my best friend, Keely Ann, is taking such good care of my Freckles until I come see them both one day. There couldn't be anymore more perfect to take care of Freckles than Keely Ann.

Losing a pet feels like losing a family member, and I struggle with feeling embarrassed that I get so upset about a dog. That's when I remind myself of the constant companionship of my sweet pup and know that denying myself the chance to grieve it will only make things worse. So I cried all the way through this post...to honor and love my puppy and say that it's okay to be sad about him dying. His life made mine so much richer, and his love and loyalty got me through some tough teenage times. There's never been a time I've been more thankful that my parents budged and gave me something I wanted. Freckles truly was the best dog.

im thankful.
carrie anne



Freckles Cinnamon Craig
September 24th, 1999 - April 14th, 2012

1 comment:

  1. so sorry Carrie! what a beautiful boy he was. i can't imagine how hard it was for you to lose him, but so glad you got to spend so many years of your life with him! what a sweet, sweet puppy

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