As long as there has been James + I… there has been James + I + Phoenix.
I dare say she was our better third… Always comforting us, always making us laugh, and always loving us….
So it is with heavy hearts and aching stomachs, that today we will help our poor sweet pup out of her misery. I’m not sure how we will manage, but knowing she will be comfortable and at peace again, instead of struggling to breathe, eat, walk, lift her head, or use the bathroom, helps some I suppose. (If there is such a thing at a moment like this.)
It has been a rough couple of weeks in the Tyler household, especially the past few days. James and I have taken comfort in each other and have done our best to make sure in her last days that Phoenix knew she was loved.
I’m sure we will spend the next few weeks grieving, as well as trying to figure out who exactly we are as a couple without our better third.
If we ever had a heated discussion, Phoenix made sure to bust in by nipping at our ankles to snap us out of it. If we were ever upset, she was there to lick our faces and comfort us. If we ever got too serious – she made sure to make us laugh. As long as there was an ‘Us’, there was an ‘Us + Phoenix’. (She’s actually the reason James ever ended up in Chicago, where we met, in the first place. His brother took Phoenix for a while when James was sorting out some things in his life, and Rich insisted James had to come to Chicago to get her. And… well… the rest is history.)
I’m not sure what else to say here other than I never knew I could love a dog so much. (Even though she seems like so much more than a dog to me now…) As most of you know, I was never a ‘dog person‘ until I met Phoenix. Something about her sad puppy-dog eyes got me and I never looked back. I will forever remember the joy she brought to my life and how she changed me for the better. I can honestly say without a doubt, she is one of the sweetest, most amazing souls ever… and anyone who has ever met her and fallen for her too (and there are many of those people) knows this to be true as well.
She will forever be missed, and James and I will carry her with us in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
We love you so much Phoen-Phoen… xoxo…
** All photos were taken prior to when she got sick recently. I couldn’t bring myself to take pictures of her much in the last couple of weeks, for obvious reasons.
