I was gonna make a journal regarding but I've felt like crap lately so I never got around to it--

On the 21st we had to put our lab, Rain, down. It happened very suddenly, though we had anticipated needing to do so for some time.
She was 12 years old and having an issue where, upon becoming excited, she would fall into episodes where she could not breathe properly. She would start gasping for breath, hacking, and vomiting. This happened several times over the course of a couple months, though she would usually come out of the episode within a few minutes and return to her usual self, acting as thought it had never happened.
But on the night we took her to the vet she didn't come out of the episode. She was struggling to breathe for over an hour and we just had to make the final call.
She was an amazing dog-- the nicest dog I've ever seen. I always undermined her loyalty and grew annoyed at her neediness, but now I miss her pining for food and pets.
It feels weird not having her here, like some chunk of my life has suddenly vanished. Last night I found myself looking for her when I said goodnight to the other dogs; it's hard to comprehend that she's no longer here.

Left: Shiloh (great pyrenees/English mastiff puppy)
Center: Rusty (basset hound)
Right: Rain (yellow lab)