Ellie: Always in our heart.

So this is probably going to be a little more serious than my last entry. Reason for this, is because it is something that happen recently to my family and I. On Friday, October 17^th, I was about to leave work. I checked my phone as usual before I left and there was a text message. The message stated “Bye Bye Ellie.” My first thought was Ellie our youngest dog, had run off. I wasn't fearful, worried yes, at least a little, but not fearful. Ellie had been living with us for a year permanently.

See, Ellie was a rescued dog. When my wife was rescuing dogs, she wanted to be able to give them to families who had a special needs child or were special needs themselves. But if others were interested in the dogs, then they could take them. The last trip that was made to rescue, there was a litter of pups that had arrived but weren't supposed to be. The litter was of five pups, four girls and one boy. Ellie was one of them. When Ellie arrived she was about six weeks old, and malnourished. We got all five of those puppies back into good health, and saw them get great homes.

Our other dog, Lilly we have had for over seven years, so we knew she was getting up there in age. So Ellie was the last one to receive a permanent home. She ended up getting a bit bigger than our Lilly did, but Lilly seem to have a renewed sense of vigor with Ellie around. They got along great unless Ellie did something Lilly knew that she wasn't supposed to do. Ellie love to like faces of my grandchildren and my nieces. But Ellie didn't like unknown animals wandering near the property where ever we lived, this include wild turkeys and deer.

So when I got that text message, it was just as I stated. I was going to head home and start looking for her. My wife had also texted me that the backdoor of our residence was somewhat open. She had left that morning after I did for work. So only the dogs were home. The doors were locked, so someone had to have come and try to get in. As I was making my way home, I kept an eye out for Ellie, but with the rain we were getting and sun starting to set much earlier now, it was hard to look for her especially on the road we live on. What I didn't know at the time was that two law enforcement officers had arrived on the scene. Also my landlord was at the house too. She should have been at the rehearsal dinner that night with her daughter who was getting married the next day. I finally managed to park the car, got out and put my stuff away from work, and grabbed a bite to eat.

That is when I was told that I needed to help my son pick up Ellie from the side of the road. She had been hit, either by a car or a blunt object. My heart sank. The control I had over my emotions was starting to fade. I walked outside to get a pair of gloves to go and help pick up our Ellie. I broke down. I couldn't hold it in anymore. Ellie was a part of this family, even if she was a dog. The law enforcement officials say that they can’t do anything about the murder of a dog because there is no way to prove it with the incident happening out at the road. But what I do hope is that Ellie did her job in protecting our residence and chase whoever it was away. Our dogs aren't vicious but they aren't pushovers either.

On Saturday morning, our landlord’s boys came down and put Ellie in her final resting spot. She out by one of the big tree’s in our front yard. She will always be our dog, and there is no replacing her. Now, I could be mad, in which I am. This incident not only disrupted our family life on a permanent level, but it disrupted the life of our landlord on a weekend that was supposed to be special for her daughter. But see, God already knew the results of what was going to happen, but it is how we react and deal with the results is what determines our character. The person who did this, if ever caught will be charged with trespassing, they will go on and pay for their crime, and be able to live the rest of their life. Ellie, she lived her life, and God gave us her to have for a time. We could go on and continue to be mad, or we can go on and be thankful for the memories that we have had with her. Thank you Lord for the memories that we were able to create with Ellie.

Readers if you know any of the people in this story other than me and my family, I ask that you keep this to yourself. It is why I haven't mention any names other than my dog. This blog is meant for me to get things off of my chest. As sad and serious as this may be, there were a lot of great memories and things that Ellie gave us and taught us about herself.