Delilah
To our dear sweet Delilah (aka Little Miss Sunshine, aka Large Marge, aka the ball girl).
My husband had heard the phrase ‘there are shepherds, and then there are dogs’. He had always wanted a shepherd and we went to various breeders and looked. I wasn’t sold on a shepherd, I knew nothing about the breed and just wasn’t sure. Finally I came to his way of thinking and we decided on a breeder. They told us they had this girl they wanted us to see. Keith went to see her, fell in love and brought her home. When I saw her, I still wasn’t sure. Well that unsureness did not last long. By the end of week one, she was wrapped around both our fingers, was so smart, potty trained in a week and just an all-around super dog. She went through doggie training and aced her class. She LOVED boating and the water, would jump over the boat just to go swimming. Again, another thing we learned about shepherds…they LOVE water. When she was a little over a year old, we were swimming at the lake this o particular Sunday and it was windy out and the lake water was murky. We didn’t think anything of it and went about our day. Not long after that, Delilah started to lose weight and have symptoms (of what we now know to be EPI…yet another thing we learned about shepherds). We went through a battery of tests with our vet, and then on to the specialist only to find out she had been diagnosed with EPI. Well, she was our daughter and we agreed we would do whatever it took to keep her alive. She has been by our side ever since. Not once has she slept outside, not once has she been kenneled. Not once has she ever missed a meal. 
Fast forward 11 years later. In January of this year Delilah turned 11. Sure she was slowing down a bit, but still loved to play ball and be right by our side. One Saturday she started having pain and we thought maybe she just tweaked something running around. It wasn’t that, she went down pretty quick, we did a round of IV’s, and then she rallied. The second week the same thing happened, but this time, we didn’t have time for another round of IV’s. Thursday, April 11th at 9:40 p.m. she went to be with the Lord. We are not sure what exactly happened but the vet thinks she may have had a tumor and it hit a blood vessel and ruptured. For those two weeks, I prayed that the Lord would take her quickly if she was sick and that she would be with us when she passed and that is exactly how it happened. So I believe the Lord had a plan and needed her up in heaven more than he wanted her here down with us. It is tough and she is one dog we will never forget, but we know she is in a better place. We can’t wait for the day to see her again. For now, her memory will live with us. We think of her every day and will never forget this special shepherd that God gave us. He knew we would take care of her and love her like to other person so we feel God gave her to us for a reason.
We love you Lila J
April 2019
