Our Gabe

We lost our sweet Gabriel on Wednesday, August 21. He was 14 years old, so we had been warning the girls that it was coming. It wasn't any less easier, though.

When Bobby started at the fire station, I didn't like staying home by myself at night. Kobe offered no support in the guard dog territory. A co-worker had 3 dogs, and was getting married to a man who had 2 or 3 dogs. She knew she'd have to get rid of a couple, and we decided to take Gabriel. He was such a blessing to me, making me feel safe at night. As the years went on, I became more comfortable. Gabe was a favorite of the girls' friends, because of his fluffy fur. He and Kobe tolerated each other and generally stayed away from each other. He and Roxy HATED each other. Or really, I guess that Roxy loved Gabe and Gabe hated Roxy. In the last few months, I'm pretty sure he went deaf.

He went downhill pretty fast. Tuesday night he acted kinda funny, and threw up quite a bit overnight. He wouldn't eat breakfast the next morning. We all went to work and school, and Bobby came home about 2:30 to check on him. Gabriel had thrown up and pooped, and was barely moving and breathing. Bobby called me and said it was time to put him down. We were both afraid that Macy, who was due home any minute, would find him. I quickly called our friend Amy, who said she'd stall Macy. I raced home, in case Bobby got a call and had to go back to work. Gabriel was barely breathing when I got home, and died a few minutes later in our living room, by the fireplace.

Bobby got someone to come in a few hours for him, and we all headed down to the winery to bury him next to Kobe. We all took turns digging the hole, like we did for Kobe. The girls put daisies on both graves.

It was a rough night for the girls. Lots of tears, and they had a hard time falling asleep. They have lost two dogs in the last year, and it's been rough on them.

My absolute favorite Gabriel memory--he always had to know where I was in the house. If he was outside, he'd search for me when he came back in. Sometimes I'd hide somewhere, and wait for him to find him. You could hear him run all through the house, looking. When he found me, he'd race to a stop and sit down, making a big huffing sound.

The girls imagined that Kobe was waiting for Gabriel, and they went happily together to chase cars.