My dog died.

Friday evening, my dog's breathing problems got much worse, irreversibly so.  Even giving him oxygen wasn't helping, so I made the decision to euthanize him.

Amos was born July 27, 2000.  I got him on September 13, 2000.  He was 6 weeks 6 days old and 15 pounds.  He was a momma's boy from the start.  He was a bit of an idiot, but he wasn't stupid... he was very smart.  I could tell him "go in the bedroom, get a toy, and come back" and he would look at me for a second, and run off into our room to get a toy.  He knew what "go around" and "the other way" meant, when he got the cable of the run wrapped around a tree. 

He lived to make me happy.  Sometimes he would get confused if he didn't understand and then he would get upset and need hugs.

When he was younger, I would take him trick or treating for Halloween and dress him up in a silly costume.. he was an angel, a fairy princess, and a ballerina.  He was a large, enthusiastic black dog, and that can be scary to people... but you can't be scared of a large, enthusiastic black dog wearing a tutu.  He loved it.

In September 2005, I went to England for almost 3 months for a study abroad.  When I got home shortly before Christmas, my dad had me wait in the kitchen while he went to get Amos and surprise him with his mommy...  I don't remember much of Amos' reaction, but my dad said Amos just melted when he realized I was home.

He was always the happiest dog you could imagine.  He started having health problems about 2.5 years ago, but somehow he managed to keep going much longer than we expected.

I've known it was coming for a long time, but it still blindsided me..  I guess I was expecting a slower decline, with more than a couple hours of notice.  He was fine in the morning, so finding him in such bad shape was a complete shock.

Amos was a huge part of my life for almost half my life and now he's just gone.