Mistakes...

I made a mistake thinking we were ready for a dog; and I made a mistake letting her go. I didn't realize how sad we would all feel. Instead of relief, we found grief. It was one of the hardest decisions to make, and I question how carefully it was made. Could we have made it work? Did we leave her with the right family? Are we better off without a dog? The answers don't matter, but the questions don't leave. What's done is done. She has a new family who loves her very much. After recently putting down their Lab, they were ready to embrace a new puppy. She will bring them much love and happiness. I guess I wish we never got Zoe in the first place...so we wouldn't be hurting right now...but I think we learned some valuable lessons: Puppies take a lot of work; we need to be better prepared next time with a fence and finished basement perhaps; and toddler + puppy = chaos.

I'm still sad. I feel the emptiness where there was once....craziness. I feel responsible for the sadness Chris is feeling. He is such an amazing and loving person. I know he agreed to letting her go because he felt it was in the best interest of the family. But he really enjoyed the responsibility of caring for her, training her, and loving her. It hurts me more to know that he is hurting than it does to feel the loss of Zoe. He's a good man and I feel so blessed to have him as my husband. I guess that's another lesson learned, but I already knew it.