My beloved best friend Nala Jean

Nala Jean

September 1, 2002 – January 4, 2017

 

My beloved best friend and dog of 14.5 years passed away in her sleep. Drew found her early this morning. She went in the peace of the night and my heart is broken. She was my best friend.

 

In the fall of 2002, I decided to adopt a dog. I was almost a year out of college and ready to tackle the responsibility of dog ownership. I went to a kennel outside of Greensboro to look at Bichon Frise puppies. Once there, I looked at the adorable Bichon’s all sitting in a crib – a real baby crib. The owner said there’s one other dog she wanted to show me –a Maltese, runt of the litter and the last one left. She brought over this teeny Maltese puppy that crawled right into my lap…and refused to leave. While I loved the energy of the Bichon, I was already in love with Nala. She picked me and I had picked her. That was the beginning of our love and friendship.

Three states (CT, NC, and TX), six cities (Greensboro, NC > Shelton, CT > Charlotte, NC > Dallas, TX > Raleigh, NC > Charlotte, NC), several jobs and might I add relationships in between – the one consistent thing in my life over the past 14 years has been Nala. She’s been along for the ride with me – sitting in the front seat of my car as I went from place to place in my life. 

 

She was there when I started dating Drew, when we celebrated Christmas every year at my parents – my brother had his three kids and I had Nala. Countless trips to the beach (which she loved!). She was with me when I found out I was pregnant with both Levi and Ellie – actually, there’s a good chance she was even in the bathroom with me as I took the pregnancy test because she always stayed close to my feet. She was there when I returned to Dallas as Drew’s wife or when I brought my babies home from the hospital. She was right by my side when I cried my hardest tears after Levi’s cancer diagnosis. She’s always been there. Always loyal. Always my best friend. Always at my feet.

 

Those of you that knew Nala recall that we didn’t have a perfect relationship – she loved to bark her head off. She would stress me out living in apartments barking when another dog walked outside the window. When I started to work from home, I was always worried she would bark during my conference calls. And it was so hard to take her on walks because she would bark at every dog and even try to ‘jump’ at them. She was very territorial – that is sometimes a blessing and a curse I suppose. That was just Nala. She barked until the very end…and oddly enough, I know I’ll miss that bark going forward.

 

We created a lot of wonderful memories together. She will always be a part of our family. We will always talk about our Nala. Right now, the hardest part will be living my life without her.

 

And with that, this morning, after dropping the kids at daycare, I drove to my parents’ house where my Mom and Dad stood ready. Grave was already prepped. They had a pod to place her in. I just showed up. They did the work. And I just cried. It felt so right…to have her at my parents’ house. I’ll be able to visit her whenever I need to. I’ve ordered her a personalized stone and will plant flowers in the spring for her. She’s in a better place now and she’ll always be in my heart.

[Pictures in no particular order]