Yuengling

One weekend in late May 1999 I went to work for a family reunion kind of event for my residents.  I came home with a puppy.  Since this was before the age of having every form of technology possible, Drew was surprised when I walked in the door holding an adorable 6 week old mostly Australian Shepherd.  No one else picked her, but I loved her immediately.  Drew loved her too and we decided upon Yuengling as her name.

I wish I had a picture on my computer of Yuengling as a puppy.  She was adorable, pesky, and full of energy.  We thought we would do the whole kenneling thing at night, but I could not take the whining.  Yuengling slept in our room from day one.

In her younger years Yuengling was full of energy....sometimes just too much.  She also created her fair share of problems for us as well.  My favorite was the eating of our Berber carpet.  That little event resulted in surgery to remove the carpet.  She narrowly escaped being hit by a car.  She would wonder away almost daily if we let her, but she always came home.  Her sniffer just got the best of her.

Yuengling was 4 when Emma was born.  Every time one of the kiddos cried as a baby Yuengling would pace until Drew or I took care of the situation.  It was very sweet!  For the most part, I think Yuengling just tolerated the kiddos.  But, if Yuengling sensed a threat to them like another barking dog, she would come to their rescue.  She was protective of all of them despite being annoyed by their constant noise.

Meeting Emma for the first time

The exception to just tolerating the kiddos was Elena.  They had a special bond.  Elena loved her to pieces and constantly played with her.  Elena would lead her around the house on a leash as if they were going for a walk.  She would cover her with blankets while sleeping.  The gave her toys that Yuengling always ignored.  Elena just took care of her like a baby and it was very sweet to watch.

Elena still asks when Yeungling is coming home from the special doctor.

In the past two or so years Yuengling's health started to decline.  She was mostly deaf and her vision was definitely not very good.  She also had lots of issues with her hips and needed medicine for that.  Walks were out of the question because it was just too taxing for her.  Occasionally she would get these bursts of energy and just play like her old self with all of us.

Yuengling annoyed me at some point or another every day, but I still loved her.  The same was true for all of us.  Friday was a shock for everyone.  When we returned home from an evening out, we saw her on the floor and it was just not right.  I thought she fell and broke her leg, but it was probably a stroke.  Her left side was not working.  All her other symptoms were similar to a medical event she experienced five years ago.  She recovered that time, but Drew and I both knew this time was different.  We knew when she left the house on Friday it would be for the last time.  We had the kids say their good-byes which was heart-wreching to watch.  Each wanted to take one last picture with her.   Drew carried her out to his truck and more good-byes were said and more tears were cried.

We don't know what happened for sure.  We do know the chances of her walking again were very slim.  We also know she probably had head trauma from the repeated head banging on the tile floor.   We trust that our decision to have her put to sleep was our last act of love.  Fourteen years was a long time to have pet of her size and we are thankful.  We miss her every day!  There will never be another Yuengling!