THE DAY I HAVE DREADED!

April 15, 192 - December 17, 2009

I knew it had to come at some point. Punkin! Punkin was 'my' dog once my mother passed away on December 3, 1999. I loved Punkin. She was just the sweetest dog ever. She lived a very long life......longer than dachshunds should live......17 years!! She was 7 years old when my mother passed away.

Punkin was a gift to my mother 17 years ago. A gift from one of her doctors. My mother was dealing with a lot of health issues, including cancer, and the Doctor thought it would be a good 'distraction' for her to have Punkin as company. Punkin's birthday was the same as my mother's birthday.....April 15th. And they shared almost the same death date....only 2 weeks apart.

I think one of the biggest challenges we have had when we came on our mission was what to do with Punkin and Madi, our cat. I felt that by taking Punkin 'out of her home', that would be cruel. She was comfortable and it was her home!! Steven and Elinn agreed to take care of both of them for us. That was a huge sacrifice on their part. That meant daily trips to our home to feed them, walk them, play with them and just be there for them. They did that so beautifully for these past 6 months. I will never be able to thank them enough for being so wonderful to Punkin and Madi for us.

Punkin was in relatively good health until this past week. She started to show quick signs of decline. I just prayed that she would go quickly and not suffer. I believe the Lord blessed her (and me) to that end. She is in a better place now. And with my mother again!

Jonathan and Steven will make sure she will have a proper burial tonight (before the snow storm sets in tomorrow). And for that I am most grateful. Jonathan and Tina have agreed to take Madi to their home now so she will have lots of company and activity around! It would not be fair to keep her in our home by herself. She needs more than that.

I really don't care what anyone else says.....our pets are family!! They will be with us in the next life. I believe that ........ I know that!!