Tears are for me…not for her!

So it happened tonight….we placed our dog with another family. I really did not expect this to be so hard on me. From the time we started re-working our budget weeks ago, we just knew that we needed to make small but significant changes. It’s hard to see a dog as a luxury…especially when you’ve had them long enough to where they feel like family. But there are several expenses that come with caring for a dog…and right now that money is needed to provide for our children. Ever since we made this decision a week ago, I found myself crying throughout the week at random times. I didn’t think I would be strong enough to go through with it. Even as her new family was here, there were moments I just wanted to call the whole thing off…BUT I KNEW I WAS DOING THE RIGHT THING….not only right for us….BUT RIGHT FOR HER!!! Ever since I got pregnant with Kendyl…and Rich took on more responsibility with his job…our priorities were slowly shifting (and sadly they were shifting away from Paige). I was struggling with making sure she got adequate exercise everyday (Especially now that it’s winter. I’m now doing most of my running indoors). And even though we loved her and did our best to take care of her…deep down I knew we could do better. I knew the only way I could emotionally get through this was if I placed her in a better home than we could provide. And I think I managed to do that!!! I found the biggest dog lovers out there!  They have two dogs already but are getting ready to put one down because he’s 17 years old and barely surviving. They stayed at my house for 1 1/2 hours just socializing and getting to know each other. I feel so good about this family being Paige’s new family. But even though I felt so sure about it, I really struggled to let her go. Throughout the 1 1/2 hours they were here I broke down crying uncontrollably several times (And Rich was not here to pick up the pieces…EMBARRASSING). But they said I could come visit her whenever I wanted and they knew what it was like to lose a dog you love so much. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices! But once we accept those sacrifices, sometimes we are blessed by realizing quickly that those sacrifices was just what needed to take place. We love you Paige…NOW YOU HAVE TWO FAMILIES WHO WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!