RIP Winky

February 24, 1996-October 21, 2010

Yesterday Winky was acting strange and having a hard time breathing. This morning, we awoke to hearing his heavy breathing. By the time we went to let him outside, his breathing had stopped.
Obviously, this left me devastated, he's been my sidekick since I was 13...the best birthday present I've ever received-Thanks Dad! To those who think "he's just a dog" please don't bother reading on...this couldn't be farther from the truth. He was there for me through every tough stage of my life: leaving life as I knew it behind in California and moving to Utah, he was there when I moved into my first place, he was there during every pregnancy (he even sat on the bathroom floor with me every time I had a bout of morning sickness), he always cheered me up through every tough situation. He was one of, if not THE, most consistent aspects of my life for a long time. I couldn't have asked for a better companion, he showed me more devotion than I've ever known in this life. Everywhere I went, he followed, even in his old age when he steps required a lot more from him than he had to offer. No words can describe how much he meant to me.
I'm happy he went peacefully in his sleep. I'm happy I was able to share his life. For as long as we have the memories, he will never truly be gone. His timing seemed to work out as best as it could as my mom is here and he seemed to wait until Arilyn was born before leaving us. It was obvious he knew his time was up yesterday, he kept wandering off to be alone. He will be missed much more than he could imagine. RIP Winky, thank you for the 14 years of love, devotion, joy and comfort. You were an incredible friend and we love you.