Nala Bear We Will Miss You

Hi friends!

This is a personal post today, if you are here for the recipes only, feel free to skip 🙂 

I know I missed Friday Favorites last week and this week, and I'm sorry about that. Friday Favorites are my weekly catch-up, where I share my newest blog posts, social posts, and life happenings.  And I just wasn't ready to type out the news about Nala.  If you follow on Instagram, you already know, but if you don't, last week, after a decade of love and friendship, we lost Nala.  

Yes, she was a senior dog, but the loss was still sudden and unexpected.  Things happened so quickly that I needed a second to wrap my brain around it before I could sit down and tell you about it.  Even now, it's hard because dredging up the pain I've only recently started to push down is difficult. But many of you have been following the blog for YEARS, and you may remember when Nala was our whole world.  

We got Nala in 2014.  Mr. Hungry's parents had just moved to California and I had suffered the beginning of my back injury, all I could do was walk.  Mr. Hungry also had a chronic toe injury and couldn't go on walks with me, which was the only thing I could do at the time.  I want a dog I could walk long distances with and eventually, hopefully, run with.  Mr. Hungry wasn't so keen on getting a dog, but he said there was one breed of dog he would get if we did get one, a Rhodesian Ridgeback.  

If you don't know, Rhodesian Ridgebacks are generally aloof to strangers, protective, strong-willed, and generally not recommended for the first-time dog owner (which we were for all intents and purposes.) But they make great running companions and guard dogs, and as long as they are properly exercising and training, they spend most of the rest of the day sleeping.  

Well, it turned out Nala would never be your typical Rhodesian Ridgeback.  She was never "aloof" to strangers and carried puppy-like energy throughout her whole life.  She did sleep during the day, but she didn't exhibit the standoffish behavior of most ridgebacks.  She was always super excited to see people, especially those she knew.  Always friendly with other dogs and a bit of a gentle giant.  One of my favorite memories of her is when she encountered a small dog on a walk that was yapping and snapping at her neck.  With the grace of a ballerina and strength of a wrestler pinned it on the ground and then just looked at me like, "Can you please remove this annoyance? I mean, I'm not gonna hurt it, but if it could stop doing that yapping snapping thing, that would be great." 

And we went on so many adventures together walking, and when I finally could run again, we ran a lot.  We had the best of times together.  And when I was pregnant, she was the sole reason I got moving.  And when I was postpartum, she helped motivate me to get moving again.  Basically, I would have never been as active as I was if it wasn't for her. 

Eventually, Nala and Missy became tolerant of each other, or I should say Nala learned that Missy could kick her butt.  Nala, being the gentle giant she is, accepted that fact and understood her place, letting the cat boss her around.  (I am first trimester pregnant with KJ in the photo below.)

Then we started having kids, and Nala was pretty darn good with them.  I felt like she always knew when I was pregnant; she seemed to stay closer, especially during the first trimester when I felt like death. 

She did not appreciate when the kids would bother her when sleeping, but other than that, she loved playing with them and realized pretty quickly that when those squirmy, loud babies started at the high chair, her life was rich with scraps. It always seemed like the kid's first words were Nala and kitty. We had her trained pretty well, but once we started having babies, the strong-willed ridgeback took hold, and she developed some habits we never did break her off, like counter surfing.  Sometimes counter surfing extended to genteelly removing food right out of a sticky toddler hand.  

Nala loved to play Wild Doggy with the kids, which basically involved all the kids and her running like crazy.  I have to say my MIL was one of the best at joining in on this game, too.  And Nala LOVED to play with other dogs, liked loved loved loved.  During the first seven years of her life, we spent a lot of time at dog parks. I'd literally go on a 2-3 mile walk or run, then we'd go to the dog park, and she'd sprint around for 20-40 minutes.  My vet said my long, slow runs were essentially boring to her.  ha ha 

As Nala got older, around 7-8 years old, dog parks became a little much for both her and us.  When KJ was a baby, I could wear him in the front carrier and take Nala to the dog park, but when I had KK, it was too hard to bring both kids and Nala.  Toddlers just don't have a place in dog parks, in my opinion, I know people do it and the toddler always gets knocked over and cries.

We would go on the weekend sometimes as a family, usually with me now carrying KK and Mr. Hungry on the outside of the fence with KJ.  But the farm that we boarded here when we traveled also seemed to become a little much for her; she would come back overly exhausted out of her mind.  That's when she started going up to Flagstaff to stay with my Aunt when we traveled.  And that's when she developed her new best friend, Ivy.  My aunt and uncle got Ivy when Nala stayed with them for a few weeks, and they were the best of friends.  My Aunt likes to say that Nala taught Ivy how to walk on a leash and how to go outside. My Aunt and Uncle would watch Ivy when we traveled or moved. We watched Ivy when they traveled (when we lived in Phoenix.) They were immediate best friends every time they saw each other.  And yes, Ivy had more energy than Nala, but my gentle giant, I always knew how to gently let Ivy know she needed a break from playing.  But it wasn't long till Ivy could get her up again from a short rest to go run through the trees or snow. 

I like to remember photos like these and think about how many adventures we had and what a good life she had.

But then again, sometimes it's too much because the pain of losing an animal cuts so much deeper than I ever expected, and worse is watching your child experience the same pain.  At six and a half KJ, Nala had been with him his whole life, and the loss of Nala absolutely crushed him. Luckily, good family members and friends sent us books like The Rainbow Bridge and Dog Heaven, which helped answer some of his questions.  Thank God for them because I didn't have it in me to look up books for the kids or to do anything really but put one foot in front of the other and try not to cry.  

What happened to Nala?  She had been weird about food for a few days.  Only eating in her kennel or only eating scraps, we had decided she better go to the vet the next day, but we didn't get that far.  That night, she was whining and moaning pretty much from 1030 to 1230, so Mr. Hungry got up and took her to an emergency vet.  The news was not good.  A tumor on her spleen that was bleeding internally.  The likelihood that it was cancer was over 70%, and if it was cancerous, surgery at 15K would only buy us 1-3 months with chemo.  If it was cancer, the surgery could be curative, but she was already on thyroid meds and bladder meds, so her health was failing anyway.  The vet said that the overwhelming likelihood is that it's cancerous in a dog this old, and her age/health was considered. She was on several meds for other health conditions as well.  Ultimately, we decided to put her down versus going down the suffering route for a lot of money with very little likelihood of an upside.  

They gave her pain meds and a supplement to slow the bleeding and let Mr. Hungry bring her home to say goodbye.  We kept her here for the morning; the kids stayed home from school, and I couldn't believe that it would be the last time I saw her. 

What surprised me most these last couple of weeks are the things that used to overstimulate me, the things that used to drive me nuts in the stress of raising three kids under six, are the things that make me miss her the most.  It's the times I think about the food on the counter she might steal and realize she isn't here to do it or when I think if she's been let out before I leave the house or how long we can be gone so she can go out.  It's when I'm at the store, and I used to feel guilty for not buying the kids grapes because they are bad for dogs. All those things used to stress me out, and now they are the things that make me miss her the most.  And, of course, seeing someone out walking their dog feels like the wound is being ripped open all over again.  I don't know how people get multiple dogs, we are a one and done family over here.  I know the pain will fade, but I can't imagine losing another pet, and we still have the fifteen-year-old cat Missy that I've had since the weekend we buried my Grandma. 

I also miss the sound of her nails on the tile, the sound of her collar when she shakes out, and her calming prescense.  While it's never quiet in our house, the house feels like it's "missing something" or, I guess, someone.  

I hope Dog Heaven looks like this, but the dogs get to chase all the squirrels as long as they want because there are no leashes. 

Nala was a sweet-natured dog.  Opportunistic, yes, but never aggressive, rarely barked, and great with the kids.  Loved people and other dogs, long walks, and sleeping in the sun. She was honestly one of the best dogs anyone could ask for, and she will be missed deeply.  Thank you for allowing me this space to share her with the world and to preserve her memory.  

I'll leave you with a few posts that highlighted Nala as the star of the show over the years: 

• Introducing Nala
• 10-12 week update
• 12-14 week update
• 6-month update
• Doggie Steps Training Review
• Nala Overcoming Her Fear Of Water
• 2014 Christmas Recap - First Christmas with Nala 
• Nala Turns 1- Homemade Dog Cookies
• 15 Tips for Running With Your Dog 
• Nala Turns 2
• Nala Turns 3
• Nala Turns 4
• Nala Turns 5
• Walking with KJ every day
• Always sunbathing
• Nala learning babies will give her food
• Always watching the floor
• Family runs
• Nala best Christmas ever
• Texas with Nala
• Exploring Texas with Nala
• Nala and Ivy - Besties
• Countersurfing queen 
• Nala adjusting to not being the only baby
• Nala and my nephew
• Nala never did stop stealing stuffies after this move
• The funniest video that shows Nala's personality to a T