chasing squirrels in heaven

Last night, our poor sweet Reba was hit by a car and was killed. We had taken her to a friend's house - we were going out to dinner with our friends, and Reba was going to stay with their dog and their babysitter. The babysitter briefly let the dogs out into the fenced-in yard, and somehow, Reba escaped. We'll never know if she freaked out and tried to go find us, or if she saw a cat and was trying to chase it, or what exactly happened. Apparently she was still breathing right after the accident, but by the time we were able to rush back from the restaurant, she was gone.

We loved this dog so much. We adopted her from the Humane Society in the middle of November. She had severe separation anxiety (which is why we brought her to our friends' house in the first place). She had managed to chew out of a metal crate, and we had just purchased a new door for her second crate. She was on anti-anxiety herbs and freaked out in the crate whenever we left, whether it was for 10 minutes or several hours. But she had been getting a little better. She was able to wait in the car while we went into a store, which was a huge improvement. There was so much potential in this poor sweet pup. We will never know how much more we could have rehabilitated her. We always imagined we'd have many many years with her.

It breaks our hearts that she's gone. She was the most loving, loyal dog. She rarely barked, didn't jump, didn't beg. She'd follow us around the house and lay down wherever we were. She loved going for walks. LOVED going for walks. And we loved taking her. And most of all, she loved squirrels. And we picture her in heaven, chasing squirrels around to her heart's delight, free from all anxiety, free from all pain.