Rest in Peace Jake

Yesterday we said goodbye to a noble member of our family~Jake. 10 years ago when I set eyes on Jake at the animal shelter, I saw he had such a sweet soul. His brown eyes looked up at me and we took him home shortly after. 

He has been  with us through kids, good times, hard times. He had such a solid amazing spirit and would especially follow Patrick around. 

 We knew his days and weeks were numbered and were hoping to get a strong sense of when to put him down. 2 days ago, that day came. 

He suffered 3 sudden grand mal seizures in a matter of 3 hours. Patrick and I looked at one another and knew this was Jakes body's way of saying he was done.  I know how with seizures the brain suffers so and I didn't want to lose Jakes spirit to more and more seizures. 

I didn't know how our day of saying good bye will look like. With Jake, I decided at the last minute to be with him while the vet put him down. It was so seamless…one moment he was there with us and the next 30 seconds he was gone. It was a beautiful way for him to go…with Patrick and I right there.

The vet gave us Jake wrapped in two blankets. Two vet assistants brought him out the back door on a doggie stretcher and we put him in the back of our car. Patrick was insistent on digging his grave as soon as we got home and boy did he do it fast. I sat on the tail gait and petted jakes little face as Patrick dug and dug and dug.

Our neighbors, Bethany and Winston,  helped at the end of the digging and together Winston and I lowered Jake down into the grave. We buried him with the ashes of Roxy dog and his ceramic food dish full of water.


I stood atop the grave and looked down in. There were words knit into the blanket which I hadn't noticed until right then.
 A psalm of David:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Rest in Peace, Jake dog. You will always be with me. Always. And you are here with us on Cliffside drive forever. And we hope Roxy dog is showing you all around heaven. 

Zoya