Our Kobe

Yesterday we had to put our sweet Kobe, our wild dingo, the wild comache, our Kobers, to sleep. It was a very hard decision, but one that was necessary. She was 12, and suffering. She was down to 45 pounds, from 90, and her back legs were hardly working. Tuesday night she couldn't even move them, and laid in the same spot for 15 hours.  I slept with her on the floor that night. I just couldn't leave her alone. Periodically she'd wake me by licking my hand. Wednesday morning she was a little better, but Bobby and I decided it was time. We knew this was coming, but I have to admit I didn't expect it to be this hard.

We picked up the girls early from school and went to the vet. I was in the room with her, and will admit I openly sobbed while they put her to sleep. The vet and the vet tech were super nice to this blubbery  woman who couldn't form a sentence. After, they released her to us and we buried her at the winery. All four of us took turns digging the hole, and the girls found a plastic flower to put on top of her grave. We will get a stone to mark the spot sometime soon.

Some memories of Kobe:

• She is named Kobe after Kobe Bryant. When we picked her up, all we had were Sports Illustrated's in the Jeep. I read off names, and Kobe is what stuck. 
• That first night, we thought we were SO smart, and didn't need a crate. We had her in a cardboard box in the kitchen, and she clawed and whined all night. The next day we bought a crate.
• I taught her to sit, lay down, roll over, give High-5, shake, and play dead. All for a treat.
• 4th of July in 2001, I broke my toe on the concrete step in the basement. I cried on the couch as Bobby popped it back into place for me, and she was sitting next to me licking my tears.
• When I was pregnant with Macy, I was on bed-rest for 4 weeks. I did nothing but read for that time, and Kobe laid next to me in bed every day. I would read to her and talk to her when I got bored. 
• She didn't bat an eye when we brought the girls home. She wasn't really protective of them, like some dogs are, but loved playing with them. She especially loved when they had friends over.
• Once time we took her camping at Smithville Lake with the girls. She was swimming out in the lake, and her ears were basically underwater. She couldn't hear Bobby calling for her to come back, and he had to swim out to get her.
• Another time, before the girls, we took her canoeing with Jesse and Melissa. She had a blast riding in the canoe and jumping around in the water. That night, our tent flooded, Bobby and I slept in the car, but she was so tired she slept in the water-filled tent. 
• She never learned to walk on a leash without pulling, something I am sad about. At 90 pounds, I could never take her on a walk without my shoulder being dislocated. 
• The older she got, the more she got into the trash, or wanted to eat our food. We always had to send her outside when eating. The girls weren't very diligent about this, and she was constantly getting their food, or eating their Easter candy.
• They say dogs are color blind....she knew the color red, because of red shock collar we'd used briefly when she was little, and she FREAKED out when we bought her a red collar. 
• She rarely barked. 
• Twice at our old house, she got out of the fence while we were gone. When we returned, she was sitting on the front porch waiting for us.
• She was the sweetest, the most playful, the most loving dog. 

I know to some people, my parents included, she was just a dog. Yes, she was just a dog. But she was OUR dog, and was a part of our family for 12 years. . The house seems empty tonight without her, and I keep looking for her, expecting her to walk to the top of the stairs.

We love you, Kobe. Have fun in doggie heaven with Maggie, Rocky, Tubby, Jack, Shawna, and Nova. Get into all the trashcans you can find, dig under the couch cushions, and run around chasing rabbits.