Lady Darling

Jan 8

December 24th, 2009 - October 11th, 2021
Breed: King Charles Cavalier Spaniel
Age: 11
Owner: Jennifer Parker
Hometown: Willard, Missouri, USA

I was a college student in Florida going to the store for a pet goldfish….. and there she was. She looked at me, I looked at her and that evening, I realized I should never go to a pet store alone.

I named her Lady, yes, like the Disney movie. She changed my entire life. I’ve had pets before, but this one, she was different. She was smart. She was a lover-dog. Always near me- or on me (ha!). She watched me graduated college, get married (and divorced), watched me become a mom, years of school to become an ICU nurse. She travelled with me too. On my worst days, she was there. On my best days, she was there. She was playful, loving, and loved virtually everyone. Friends and family who “didn’t like dogs”, would end up visiting and brings treats, toys and gifts and caught themselves petting and cuddling my “Lady Girl”.

When she turned 7, she was slowing down a bit. Took her to a new vet where I was informed she had a grade 3 MVD. She went to her regular checkups prior to and had no idea and no diagnosis prior. They started her on Enalapril and Lasix. She seemed to be doing better.

When she turned 10, she would get excited with us coming home or playing and started having instances of “pre-syncope”. Where she would collapse but not faint. She also started having a serious-wet CHF cough sporadically and spontaneously. The vet told us she had progressed to a grade 5. Told us to watch for a decline and to think about making arrangements for “that day”.

Well, in the last few weeks she had been moving slower, but still jovial, still going outside, eating, drinking and even jumping up on the coach with no issues.

Then Monday came. I just worked 4 night shifts in a row. That day, she seemed her normal self. Until she came running into my bedroom and plopped into my lap. Breathing hard, hard beating like hummingbirds wings. In my lap, she crossed over the rainbow bridge. I can’t even put into words the devastation and grief I was and am still feeling.

After a bit, I loaded her up onto my ranger for that “one last car ride” (another of her favorite activities). Found a nice spot next to a pond on my land, and before I could even bury her, wrapped her in her favorite blanket and held her while the sun was setting. If you know anything about the Midwest, we have the most gorgeous colors in the sky at sunset. I laid her to rest in a spot where she has the beautiful sunrises and the gorgeous sunsets.

And as much as I am grateful she is no longer in pain or suffering or fatigued; her sunsets may be gorgeous but my skies are little gray. She was there for the most pivotal and provincial times of my life. She left a profound mark on my life and my heart and to know the unconditional love of this little soul is to understand how full her heart truly was.