This post has been a long time coming, but it has taken me a while to even be able to sit down to write it.
On March 17, 2004 Brad and I brought our first "baby" home. We had been married less than 3 months, and we were so excited as we drove from Jacksonville to Orlando to pick him up. When we got to the breeder's house, he was the last pup from his litter, in a wooden crate with a younger litter of yellow puppies. He was sitting in the back corner of the crate while all the yellow's were jumping at us, trying to get our attention. I never could have walked away without him in my arms. We brought our baby home, a chubby ball of black fluff. He was so tiny and dark that you could hardly see his face in pictures! We named him Peyton.
Since he was the last of his litter, the breeder discounted him for us- we always called him out clearance pup because of that.
The first few days home we seriously thought he was broken. He wouldn't eat anything, he didn't budge when we gave him his first bath- his favorite thing to do was to lay in a corner in the kitchen. Brad actually called the breeder to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with him. He finally started eating little pieces of cheese out of my hands, and once he got comfortable with us, his true personality came out.
Peyton quickly became our best friend. He was such a sweet, lovable puppy. He grew so fast, into a big black monster. Coming home to him was one of the best parts of my day. Even sitting here now, thinking back, I have all these images rushing through my head that I cannot even put into words. The first summer we had him we tried to teach him how to swim- after all, labs are water dogs! But he was petrified of the pool and we ended up with bright red scratches all over us from trying to force him. It wasn't until the following year that something clicked, and once he discovered his love of water it was almost impossible to keep him out of a pool! He would get in to cool himself off, but his favorite thing was jumping into the deep end after tennis balls and toys. I can't even count the number of times one of us almost got crushed in the pool by Peyton jumping.
When I was pregnant with Savannah, we announced to our family and friends on this blog that she was a girl by taking a picture of Peyton complete with a sign that read "I am having a little SISTER!"And he truly was an awesome big brother to our sweet baby girl. He loved her from the minute she came home from the hospital, was always so gentle with her and so sweet to her. He would lay on the bed next to her, would cover her in kisses, and then when she was bigger, she would crawl and climb all over him and he wouldn't move a muscle. No matter how hard she yanked on his ears or stepped on his belly, he took it all in stride.
Peyton could always be counted on for cuddles, for snuggles, for protection when we needed it. Whenever Brad had to go out of town for work Peyton would take Brad's place in our bed to keep me safe.
We had so many plans of things we wanted to do with Peyton. We thought we had so much more time left with him than we did. We always talked about taking him to North Carolina in the winter- he would have loved running free in the snow covered mountains. He would have been so beautiful up there, his dark coat in the bright white snow.
On May 15 Peyton got into a scuffle with my sister's dog and ended up losing the tip of his ear. I was so concerned about the amount of blood he was losing, but by the time we got home it was too late for him to get stitches so we had to just wait it out. On that Monday, May 17 Peyton was having a really hard time- he was laying and moping around the house, and whenever he would try to get up he couldn't stand up without "spitting up" little bits of vomit. I started getting concerned as the vomit looked like it was filled with dried blood. Finally in the afternoon he threw up all over the floor- it was just liquid and smelled awful so Brad rushed home from work to take him to the vet.
Peyton was given an x-ray and there seemed to be a large build up of gases in his belly, but there wasn't a visible obstruction. Our vet told us that she would feel more comfortable doing exploratory surgery than leaving him, so we made the decision to go ahead with the surgery. We waited on pins and needles all evening waiting to hear from the vet.
When she called, we were not given very good news. Peyton did indeed have an obstruction in his small intestine- we later looked at it and *think* it was part of a stuffed animal. We aren't sure how long it had been in there, but unfortunately the blockage caused the good tissue of his small intestine to die. The vet had to remove 6 feet of his small intestine- the most she has ever had to remove from a blockage. She was able to reconnect his small intestine but from there it was a waiting game to see how his body would handle the massive amount of tissue that he lost.
We were so lucky to have taken our animals to the vets that we did. They were so good to us that whole week. Peyton was treated so well- rather than be confined to a small crate they made him a bed in the corner of their lab and put a gate around him. We were welcome to come and spend as much time with him as we wanted- the kids and I spent hours with him that we are so grateful to have had. The staff all loved Peyton, and they all remarked every time we came by how his whole demeanor changed and he really perked up every time his family came to visit. We were able to sit on the floor with him and cuddle him.
On Thursday of that week, the vets made the decision that Peyton had to decide how things were going to progress. They felt that in order to see how much healing he'd really done, we needed to see how he'd do in the real world. So Brad stopped by on the way home from work and brought our pup home with him. We set him up a bed in the corner of our bedroom and put the baby gate up at the door- to keep him separated from the kids and the other dogs. Looking back, we are so thankful that we were able to have that last night with him at home, that Boone and Edward were able to see him and that the kids were able to spend time with him.
Peyton was very restless that night. His breathing was very labored, and at some point during the night I just knew that his time was very limited. Brad took him back to the vet on his way to work in the morning.
We got the call around lunchtime, that Peyton wasn't doing well at all. We had to make the most difficult decision of our lives- but in all honesty it was an easy decision to make because he was in so much pain. My parents were able to come up to the house and stay with Savannah and Landon so that I could go be with him. Brad was up in Gainesville for a deposition- I don't know how he was able to get through it but he did and came straight to the vet to be with me and Peyton.
That afternoon was so hard. The staff were all so upset- they put me back in the operating room with Peyton and let me have privacy and time with him. I was able to take him for a walk outside and just sat with him in the sun for a while. He loved being outside, but he kept trying to walk towards my car. I got him back inside and laid on the floor with him for hours. Just petting him and talking to him and telling him how much we loved him. Once Brad arrived we spent more time with him, and then we finally had to say good bye.
There were so many tears shed that week, and countless more tears in the weeks that have since passed. Peyton was our best friend, and our hearts are so empty without him in our home. Every once in a while Landon will ask me to take him to the doctor to see Peyton and it hurts y heart so badly. I avoid driving past the vet still- whenever I can't avoid it Savannah will comment on how that's where Peyton was. I think she really understands that Peyton is in Heaven and we will see him again one day, but Landon doesn't get that he can't ever come home.
It will be a very, very long time before I can really think about him without getting upset. When I am laying in bed late at night, unable to fall asleep my thoughts automatically drift to him and I have to force myself to think about something else so I don't cry myself to sleep. But we were blessed with six wonderful years with him, and look forward to seeing him in Heaven, where he will be running on the beach and in the white snowy mountains.
