Farewell to Donny

Saying goodbye to a friend after an enjoyable evening of dinner and drinks leaves us with a smile. When we lose a parent, spouse, sibling, child, or pet, however, our goodbyes come laden with grief rather than joy.

Why have I included a pet on the list? Because saying goodbye to a pet is like saying goodbye to a family member.

Pets are family.

Just yesterday, Thom and I experienced the sadness of saying goodbye to our adorable 10-yr-old Westie. Donny came into our lives eight years ago, the result of a phone call we had placed to a shelter that handled only Westies—we’d had this breed before and were interested in adopting one. We provided references and waited for a dog to become available.

A week later we heard back. Our references were good. They had a doggie. He would be brought to us the next…