My Precious Lady, too ill to save

Dear Family and Friends,
This evening at 5:30 I watched as Lady was given an overdose of sedative and fell asleep for the last time.

Lady came into our lives when Jason picked her up at a farm somewhere in the valley and on his way to a convention in LA.  He kept this tiny little scottish terrier puppy with him in the booth he was helping with and charmed visitors to the booth.  Lady was a quiet but strong little bundle of big barks and a super active nose.  Any walk with Lady involved waiting while she smelled everything along the way.  While she lived in the background due to Starr being out front and in charge Lady had her own endearing qualities.  My favorite was her faithful presence at the door to the garage, waiting every night to welcome me home and check out the smells I might bring home, had I seen with other dogs during the day?  Lady would know.  A few days ago Lady started to appear very ill, she could hardly move, would no longer eat and would only drink sips of water.  This evening I had arranged to take her in after I was through caring for Keanna.  The young doctor was kind and laid it out after checking her over, kidneys had failed, liver was failing, heart was beating strongly but blood would not clot, she was very ill and there was no possibility that she would recover.  Whatever had happened was massive, overpowering and was sapping her life.  Clearly she was in distress so I made the decision, she would be put to sleep.  It was very hard to decide and carry out, yes I would be in the room with her stroking her head as she fell asleep for the last time.  The photo I've included is seconds before she died.
How can I explain other than to simply say, another part of my life died today.  Lady has been with us for nearly 13 years and was part of the backdrop for Christmas, Thanksgiving, summers on the deck, times in the paddle boat, motorhome trips to Weed, MBA, anywhere we went they went with us.  I know all of that stuff, life moves on, she was old, just a dog but that does nothing for a breaking heart this afternoon.  Yes I'm familiar with death and dying but it does not get easier.  As so many things are up for grabs in my life each piece of life as I knew it being ripped away is very hard to accept.
Lady lived a very good life, she was never hungry or thirsty, she was safe and loved and she gave so much back to all of us all the time.  How sad Nan would be this evening if she were still here.
Yet in spite of this painful afternoon something unexpected happened after I came home.
As you know I was involved in an accident a couple months ago, I was not at fault and the other insurance company picked up the big tab.  They did not pick up the tab for the insurance for the rental car I had and I was stuck with a $347 bill which was very hard to deal with at the time.  Just one more nasty surprise.  I decided to write a simple letter to the lady that caused the accident just telling her what had happened but not demanding anything from her at all.
Tonight at the front door was a package that was hand delivered, in it was a kind note and a check for $350.  What a lift and what a total shock.  After that with raw emotions I decided to make belgium waffles and then I decided to share them with Ray and Lois, I called, they came and we had a nice meal together.
Now I need to get a report written and then it is off to bed.
Thank you Lord for allowing us all to enjoy Lady for these 12 years.  She has demonstrated true love and devotion often in spite of being ignored or even yelled at.  Lady has been a great blessing to us all.

Love

tim