Back in February, the girls asked us to let them get some dogs. We found two black labs, a brother and sister, named Tank and Miley.
The girls fell in love immediately with these two dogs. Everyday around lunchtime, they would take the dogs on a walk and play with them. Those dogs were two of the happiest dogs in the world.
Tank and Miley knew they belonged to the girls. Everywhere the girls went, they went. If the dogs had to be put outside to, you know, go to the bathroom, they would definitely let me know that they felt inconcenienced to be away from their girls. And as soon as I would let them back in, those two dogs would race throughout the house until their girls had been located.
Sweet Pea and Miley had a particularly special relationship. They would cuddle and read together and Sweet Pea would often get out of bed and sleep on the floor with Miley.
Last night, we loaded up to go camping. The dogs ride in the back of the truck. I have never been a fan of dogs riding in the back of a truck, but we have no other options. Tank and Miley have never tried to jump out and are pretty mellow, so it has always worked out ok. When we got to camp, Sweet Pea noticed that Miley was no longer in the truck, but Tank was. The girls and I got out of the truck to walk back up the road to see if we could find her. Jason and Amy pulled up right after that and they had already seen her, and she had already passed away.
We think she was up on the side of the truck and when we went over a small bridge, we must have hit a bump and she fell out. We think she died instantly.
The pain I had to see my Sweet Pea was just so horrible. I was sad for Miley. She was a great dog and had quickly become a part of our family. But breaking the news to Sweet Pea that she had died was really hard.
Sweet Pea is nine and things like this affect her more. David drove back and got Miley. He offered to bury her at camp or take her home. Sweet Pea asked to take her home. David told her we could make a pink cross for her.
Sweet Pea just kept asking to go home. I don’t blame her . . . I wanted to go home, too. She tried to be brave and cheer up, but she would just keep disappearing into our trailer. When I would come to her, she would cry:
“I just can’t do it! I just can’t.”
To make things trickier, we were camping with David’s work. (Jason works at the same company David does) David was in charge of the trip and it was really not possible for him to leave. His truck was needed for a big river float the next day so it was looking pretty impossible for me to get Sweet Pea home. Jason and Amy offered their car for me to take her home in, and I am extremely grateful to them for that.
Please be praying for my kids, especially Sweet Pea and Daisy Mae.
I am so sorry for your lose…this is one of the hardest lessons we can teach out kids, losing that someone so special to us hurts more than words will ever express, it is 2 months since I lost my BFF of 12yrs Nardia…was also to an accident and did not get to say goodbye before she parted…Infact so painful I have not been able to post about it on my blog even.
Give Sweet Pea a big hug from me and tell her I know her pain, I cry tears on my keyboard for her and her beloved BFF.
Love and Prayers of comfort to you all.
Kelsie
That poor baby! It’s so difficult to lose a pet, especially when you are young. I will be praying for Sweet Pea and the whole family.
Oh goodness Taylor. I know this pain too well and it must be especially hard after losing two other dogs in recent years.
I will pray for your girls and their healing and for you to have wisdom with your words and actions.
So sorry for you all.
Oh, Teller. I’m sorry. I know how hard it is to lose a pet. I’ll say a prayer for your kids’ hearts.
So sorry! This made me cry, knowing what a loss it would be for my 11 yr old son to lose his “wishbone”. I hope you all heal quickly.
I’m so sorry. I feel sick just reading this so I can’t imagine how badly your little girl feels.
Aw, this made me cry to, poor little girl. Its hard to see your kids in pain, I hope the hurt goes away soon.
Sending all the love I can to you all…I lost my PeeWee (the great dane my daddy got me when I was a baby) when I was eleven. It is going to affect SP for a long time…I’m 37 and still remember the heartbreak I felt. I’m in tears for her (and DM and the rest of you all too-a loss of a fur family member touches the whole family…Tank will probably show signs of loss too). 🙁
I am so sorry… The loss of a beloved pet is so hard. We will keep your family and especially Sweet Pea in our prayers.
So so sorry for you all Taylor. It is so hard to say goodbye to a beloved pet. Thinking of you as you share hugs and tears for Miley.
Oh, my heart is just breaking for Sweet Pea and the rest of your family. I’ll be praying for you.
🙁 So so sorry. Sending a great big hug. Words just don’t seem like enough when a pet is lost.
🙁 I’m sorry… It has been tearful at our house this week, too, saying good-bye to our 11 yr old “therapy” cat 🙁
Awww.. I am so sorry for Sweet Pea and Miley. What a terrible heartbreak for a child to go through. Sending her hugs and prayers.
I am so sorry for your family’s loss. My heart just broke as I read your post- I will be praying especially for Sweet Pea and you as you help her through this very rough time.
I know the pain of losing a dog in that same way. Hugs and prayers for you and your family and especially Sweet Pea.
Our dogs always rode in the back of the truck also and after the loss of Rover, he attached an eye hook through the middle section of the truck bed (directly behind and under the rear window). He then attached a short chain to this and any dog riding with us was chained so they could not jump or fall out of the truck bed.
Hope this helps
I’m so sorry, Taylor. Hugs to the girls.
Smooches and squooches go out to you and your family, especially Sweet Pea.
My heart is breaking for poor Sweetpea, the relationship between a girl and her dog is like no other. She’s going to need a lot of loving right now, I’m glad you were able to leave early with her. She will be in my prayers. <3
Oh no! Poor Sweet Pea. And Daisy Mae. And Taylor. What a horrible thing to happen. Will be praying for the right words for you!
Oh my gosh. My heart is hurting for you right now. To lose an animal, especially in such a tragic way, is devastating. I’ll be praying. 🙁
Miley was the kind of dog you take to right away. So sweet and mellow. I liked her too. My heart hurts for you all. So very sorry.
I am sad.
I’m sorry that you lost your sweet dog. Please know that I will be remembering all of you in my prayers. I know we’ll never meet in real life, but I so enjoy hearing about your life. You are a wonderful mom. I know you all will make it through this difficult time.
I too am crying for your sweet girl and her poor dog. I am so sorry to hear that this happened. She is in my prayers.
The girls are in my prayers. You are too. I am so sorry to read of this.
Y’all are in my prayers. So sorry for your loss.
I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is so hard.
There’s nothing harder than saying good bye to a pet, no matter what the circumstances. This was especially heart wrenching. There’s a pretty simple fix, expecially for your talented husband. The only thing is to make sure the tether is short enough to keep the dog from being bumped over the side and risk hanging. That happened to my cousin’s dog. Luckily they were able to get him back in quickly. This is a much safer option.
http://www.discountramps.com/dog_truck_restraints.htm
My kids watched a drunk driver run over their big Lab dog. It was hard, and 10 years later they still talk about him.
Our dogs have rode in the back of the pickup….forever. Something might’ve caught her attention and she just lost her balance…it happens.
Get a distraction for her and her heart will heal in time.