Bailey 1994-2007

Yesterday afternoon we had to put our dog Bailey to sleep. She got sick Friday night and continued on Saturday. I knew something was up when she would not eat or drink and would not move after she got sick.
Turns out she was in the first stages of liver failure. Although she was not in pain yet the vet said she would be if she continued. The vet also said we could try to give her antibiotics and take her home but this would only buy her a couple of days at the most. This was such a hard decision for us, but in the end we decided that if we did that it would just be for us and we did not want her to be in pain.
She was the very first pet Greg and I got 13 years ago after we were first married. We got her the day we got the keys to our first house. Actually I picked Greg up from our apartment after I got off of work and we went to get her and then got the keys to our first base house. And then Greg left me and her at the new house and went to work! She has been my sidekick ever since. She was my first “baby”
I remember our first Christmas sitting one night in the living room watching TV with Bailey sleeping at my feet (Greg was at work) and the next thing I knew the Christmas tree had fallen on her. We both panicked because I could not get the tree off of her and she was squirming so much that I was afraid she was gonna get tangled in the lights and break the few ornaments we did have. This was the first and last time we had a real tree and by the way she never got close to a Christmas tree after that!
The kids were devastated. Bailey was always there with them since they could remember. They were all introduced to each other the same way, on the floor with Greg holding them while I stood back praying that this big dog would not eat my new little baby. But she would just sniff them up and down and then wag her tail. She was wonderful with all of my kids and slept by all of their cribs as if to protect them. JP’s first word in fact was Bailey or “Ahdee”. D use to try to ride her like she was a horse and Bec would just sit and sing to her for hours.
We have had lots of talks about heaven and what Bailey is doing now. Our favorite thought is that she is running around a big field chasing down crickets and squirrels. That and eating an endless supply of peanut butter! She use to spend hours trying to get the peanut butter out of the middle of her KONG toy.
She was a well traveled dog too being in the military she moved 7 times with us. We were so luck to that she traveled so well and that we always found a house that accepted dogs. She was part of our family and we will miss her terribly!