It was Matt, who found Josie. He picked her up and so very gently carried her to the car where we put her on the front seat and wrapped her in a blanket. Her shocky condition was obvious even then and time was our enemy; she was visibly failing before our eyes. We left Phil to round up the remaining dogs and raced her back to Dr. Herring's clinic, and she never once complained.
{This is a pic of Josie at dr. Herring's clinic Sunday night. She kept propping her head up, and we were heartbroken when we realized it was because she was trying to breathe.)
She propped her head up on the console of my SUV, and nudged my arm... I rubbed her ears and cooed to her the entire 45 minutes to the hospital and I promised her we would take care of her. I promised her nothing and no one would ever hurt her again. Those beautiful brown eyes of hers looking into mine with such trust, as if to tell me it was okay. I checked on her every now and then and she was resting as comfortably as possible. I checked on her again in the morning before I left to come home and crawled in her pen with her. She laid her head on my lap and I held her for the last time. I knew in my heart I'd never see her again, but I still had hope. I heard later on that day after I got home that she crashed, and Dr. Herring did emergency surgery to try to save her. Her diaphragm was shredded and there was nothing he could do but let her go peacefully.
Josie, you touched my heart and Matt's in a way we can never explain. Your sweetness, your gentleness, your calm attitude of complete trust will remain with both of us. I'm so sorry, Josie, that we couldn't be there sooner to help you. I will never forget your beautiful brown eyes...
Click
to make a donaton in Sweet Josie's memory
