Goodbye old girl

The family said goodbye to a member yesterday.  Lucy, the golden retriever who alternately won our hearts and drove us crazy for 12 1/2  years will be frolicking in a place without pain and no doubt an all you can eat buffet!  It was a hard decision, but with a litany of health problems and an inability to get up without extreme pain it was time to let her go.  I guess it is not surprising that letting the big golden furball go has left a void in the family's life.  She was a constant in all of our daily dramas.  She was always available to comfort us after life disappointed us.  A silent shadow who somehow managed to find the nexus of foot traffic in our house and effectively block it.  With an unerring nose for any unguarded chocolate, she considered everything edible within reach as her property to be disposed of under the divine Mrs. M's baby grand piano.  We'll miss you old girl.