I remember the first time I met Molly. There was this lovely lass who worked answering the phones for the law firm in our lobby. One day besides her strange habit of being barefoot, she had her dog at work. Apparently Molly had just had her hair done and was just hanging out until it was time to go home.

At that point I had no idea that the lass and Molly would become an important part of my life.I wasn’t even sure that I liked small dogs or poodles in particular, but Molly and Laila were a package deal. It took no time at all for me to grow to love Molly, she was sweet, intelligent and a beauty. Molly had the worst breath of any critter I ever came close enough to sniff.  We used to joke, if you closed your eyes, you would have no idea which end you were smelling.

Molly was a dog of many names as most of our pets are. There was Molly, Molly Bear, Bear, Boom Boom and on occasion Ass Stripe. I almost always just call her Bear.

The last six months for her have been increasingly difficult as her eyes,  ears and bladder began to fail her. We began to question what her quality of life had become and to face the difficult decision of how to handle her condition.

This afternoon I bathed her and bundled her up for her last car ride. I took her to our loving and caring vet who had never met her until this day. For the first time I was present when one of my pets was put to sleep. It was very comforting to see that the whole process was quick and painless.  A little before 4 PM, her tiny life was over.

I will miss Bear, but I have been missing Bear for the last 6 months as she wasn’t able to truly enjoy life anymore. Sometimes the decisions that make you cry are the right ones.