11 APRIL 2025
I never wanted to get to post this. I have said goodbye to my best friend and companion of 13 years. My dog Hera was put to sleep this afternoon. I feel inconsolable, and I have lost a lot of my purpose. Hera had been deaf for months, and almost entirely blind for just a few days. Even so, I wrote her a heartfelt letter and I read it close to her before I said goodbye. Although she would never have understood a word of it, I am so glad I was able to speak the words to her. She died at home, with diabetes and liver and kidney problems. I was at her side to comfort her to the end. My world has changed immeasurably and my home is so empty. She was utterly gorgeous to me, and she kept so much of her character to very recently. I have no partner or children, so Hera was even more important to me. She got me through a lot. And there’s no such thing as “just a dog”.
I don’t have adequate words for this loss and it absolutely hasn’t even fully hit me yet.
I am beyond grateful and feel overly blessed to have had Hera in my life, and I know she felt loved.