In Memory of a Lost Family Member

36 hours ago my dog was happy as could be. She was roaming free out here in the country, rather than being trapped in town where she spent most of her life. Now she's dead. You must understand that I am not writing this because I am bitter, because I'm not. I am writing this because I'm sad. I really don't know how else to properly express my feelings than to write them.

My family got Hazel after a couple years of not having a dog. Our first dog had been shot when I was about 8 for chasing cattle. When I was about 11 we got Hazel. She was a cute little puppy. Hehe. Looked like a rottweiler with floppy ears. We lived in town with her for about 4 years, and she was miserable the whole time. She was always behind a fence, or on a chain, and it made her kind of mean. Not really mean, but if you didn't know her, you had better not approach her. We had a lot of fun in town though. Made a lot of memories with her there. Just like a family would with any dog. We went on walks and runs and she loved to pull us on our rollerblades. We played soccer with her, jumped on the trampoline, and even just sat and petted her quietly when we were sad. She was the one that we could talk to any time and she would just listen. Not give petty advice, not try to tell us that things were ok when they really weren't. She played in the streams in the mountains with us, and slept outside our tent when we went camping. Then, about 6 months ago we moved out to the country and she was basically free to roam, but she never went far. Out here in the country, we rode bikes with her, and watched the day to day progress of the chicks as they grew. We played in the snow and the wind. She was just like another child in our family. Except she was special. She had a self-assigned job. Protector of all things that she considered her territory. She protected our cat when it had kittens, (again.) She followed my 2 year old sister everywhere she went outside to make sure that my sister was always safe. Hehe. She even trapped our neighbors in their cars when they came over if she didn't like their scent. My family loved Hazel, and Hazel loved us back.

Yesterday, Hazel did something that my brothers and I thought she would never do. She managed to get into a cage containing some adolescent chickens, and killed 6 of them. Once a dog has killed a chicken, and gotten a taste for their blood, they can't stop killing them. It's like a drug. A dog that kills chickens cannot be kept. 

Yesterday, we had to shoot Hazel. We all cried. I think even my Dad cried a little bit. It was really hard. We dug her a grave, and buried her. This was the result.

(That's my brother Enoch's handwriting. She was his best friend.)

Now that she's gone, it feels as if something is missing from this home. I feel on edge. She was the protector. I'm sure she still is, but not in the same way. I miss walking up the front steps and seeing her laying above where the kittens are, protecting them while their mother is getting something to eat. I miss hearing her bark when people pull into our driveway. I miss sitting on the back steps and petting her. If you really want to get technical about how much I miss her, know that I'm crying as I write this.

Hazel, I miss you. I missed you quite a bit today in fact. The bike ride without you was very lonely. 

I love you. See you in Heaven.