As many of you know, we had to put Kiwi to sleep on Tuesday evening.  The change in her health occurred rapidly (that afternoon she was still playing with her toys), but by nightfall she was struggling to breathe and could no longer relax comfortably.  We had a vet come to our house around 9:30 pm and the whole experience was very peaceful.  I have no regrets about that night or how we spent our final week with Kiwi.  The weather was beautiful and we went on many family walks together.  My only regret is that her life wasn’t nearly long enough.  And now Tim and I are struggling with a grief that is greater than I ever could have imagined.

Here’s our last picture with Kiwi:

Lex is handling Kiwi’s death better than Tim or me.  He does ask about “Wee Wee,” but he readily accepts whatever answer we give him (”Kiwi isn’t here.  She died and is in heaven.”) and then he’s easily distracted by a toy or a book.  And I use him as my distraction.  His nonstop activity level has helped me stay busy during these difficult past few days.