Bernie's Passing

We adopted Bernie from a shelter in October of 2006. We had moved into our first house in August and had a yard. We were trying to get pregnant, had gone through some treatments, and had looked into adoption and started filling out paperwork for that process. So, Bernie was our first experience with adoption. He filled an emotional need that we couldn't yet fill with children. And he loved back, jumping up to our chests when we returned home from work and school, following us from room to room...

When we adopted him, we were told that he was 8 or 9 years old. A groomer thought he was 10 or 11 based on skin spots. Regardless, he was already well into his adult life when we brought him home. Over the last couple years, his health started to get worse. He had special food to manage bladder stones and medication for arthritis. He also had a heart murmur. Over the last several months, his health started deteriorating more rapidly. His heart murmur became advanced and he started to cough after any physical exertion. His heart had to work harder, so his chest cavity expanded, making it more difficult to breath. Some pain medication helped him feel better as his arthritis started to make him stiff-legged.

Becca and I had discussed an end of life plan the week of Christmas. We decided to monitor him to see if he got worse, but expected to have to carry out our plans after our return from visiting family. During our visit to family, Bernie's health got much worse very quickly. He could not lay down for very long and would prop himself up with his front paws so he could breath. He would fall asleep sitting up like that, tip over, and then start the process again. Then, he wouldn't eat and drank very little. His energy was gone and we had to carry him and hold him to give him relief.

Becca had prepared the kids for what was coming. She had read children's version of Marley and Me to the two older kids earlier in the year. She told them how his heart was not working very well and that we would eventually need to put him to sleep and he would not wake up.

Although we would have liked to have carried out our plans at home, it was time to release Bernie from his suffering. We took the kids into a bedroom at my parents house with Bernie and put him on the bed. As Becca and I composed ourselves, Riley discerned what was going on and asked, "Are we going to talk about Bernie?" We responded, "yes," to which she asked, "Is it time to put him to sleep?" We told her yes and that it would happen that afternoon. Tyson smiled, looking at all of us crying until Becca told him, "We need to say goodbye to Bernie." He started crying (he has lately become very attached to him and is very gentle and tried to talk to him softly to calm him down when he was coughing) and when we asked why he was sad, said, "Want Bernie to live." We let the kids say their goodbyes and headed to a local vet.

Although making this decision was the right thing to do, it was one of the, if not the hardest thing that we've had to do. Becca felt it was only right that she pushed the final plunger to take responsibility for the comfort of our pet. As I held his head, we let him slip away.

Some day we will probably have a dog again, but Bernie can't be replaced in what he gave us at a critical time in our lives. We love him and thank him for all he did for us.

Caged Animal

We moved Bernie's crate to the living room a couple of months ago. Asher was fascinated with it at first, both when Bernie was inside and when it was empty. One evening he took it upon himself to check it out from a different angle.

New Game: Giggle Ball

Riley and Asher play for a record-breaking (for them) amount of time. Asher giggles like a, well, a baby. Asher "pets" Bernie. Riley takes photos of the family. And I finally experience one of the benefits of having two kids.

Bernie Camps

Poor Bernie rarely gets a post. Because our house is now on the market, we didn't want to leave him at home while we went camping. Bernie went with us, enjoyed the campfire, slept in the tent with us, hiked with us, and got filthy. Some of the kids with us loved him and wanted to walk him, pet him, and even sit in the camp chair closest to him. Some of the kids were scared of him and had to keep track of wherever he was so they wouldn't be surprised by him.

When I gave him a bath when we got back, it looked like there was a stream of dirt coming from each foot. He was like Pigpen. He doesn't like baths, but as with most things, he is a good sport and just stands there for us.

Box = Fun

Today, we got a new kitchen sink, leaving a good size box to play in. We got Riley to go through and with a little cheering, she did it over and over. I even went through once. Reminded me of spelunking in a birth canal (which every cave seems to have). We even got Bernie to go through with a little incentive. We first stuck our head in one end and called him, but he just ran around the room and barked, like he was saying, "Timmy's stuck in the well!" He even tried to bite the box to get it off of Becca. Riley loved him running around and started running around yelping as well. It was a pretty fun half hour of good, clean, box fun.

Inside Outside

Riley has become more aware about her surroundings. When I come home from work she hears the door and starts crawling towards it, making noises to greet me. When one of us leaves the room, she will follow and try to find us. The other day, she crawled into the bathroom and looked in the shower for me even though I wasn't there, but she knew that sometimes I am. Here are some of the pictures I took when we were in Albuquerque.


Watching my mom sweep the porch and looking out the front door.


Fighting the dogs for position and rubbing it in that she is inside and Bernie isn't.

Sunday in the Park

The temperatures here in Austin are quickly becoming bearable. We hope to experience pleasant soon, but after a hot, rainy summer, we'll take what we can get. We packed up the "kids" and Riley's new stroller and went for a walk on Sunday afternoon. We knew of a park that has a playground and a paved trail, but didn't know much else about it. So off we went. We ended up finding both the trail and the playground, so Bernie enjoyed a little exercise, and Riley enjoyed swinging on Daddy's lap. And yes, she enjoyed her bib, too.

Terra & Cole Visit

I had a lot of fun this week with Terra and Cole in town. I saw a whole new side of the city while planning activites for a 2-year-old. We went to a park north of us with a "water playscape"... basically glorified sprinklers. Cole and Terra were trying not to get wet while running through the water "tunnel". Later Cole tried the same trick on some much smaller arches. It was quite funny to watch.

Just as I expected, Cole loved Bernie. We lost count of how many times he told us "He's a nice dog," and "Bernie likes me." And most of the time Bernie did.

Cole was very sweet with Riley, and even told his Mom one morning, "She's my favorite." His favorite what, we weren't sure, but it was cute, all the same.

I'm sad they're leaving tomorrow, but so glad they were able to come visit. We're looking forward to seeing the whole family in September for Leesa and Tim's wedding!

Sharing Toys

Riley has so much fun with her activity gym that Bernie and I decided to see what all the fuss is about. Bernie wasn't too excited by it, but Riley and I had a good time.

First Real Bath

Yesterday, Riley's umbilical cord fell off so we can now give her real baths! Ok, maybe we were way more excited than she was. We think she was a little cold, which we already mentioned she doesn't like. When we were swaddling Riley, Bernie showed a lot of interest, so Scot swaddled him too. Neither of them seemed to mind, but I think the look on Riley's face shows us she can't figure out who the baby is with all the white hair.

Home Portraits

Becca set up a makeshift portrait studio to take a few pictures. Bernie got in on the fun and they both obeyed when they were told to pull a funny face.

Riley's First Day Home

Riley Sophia was born on March 28th, 2007 at 7:38 pm. She weighed 5 pounds 9 ounces and was 17.9 inches long. We brought her home early Saturday morning (the 31st) and she is settling in well. All four of us are working on a sleep schedule. Bernie loves her and tries to help however he can by following us around when we are holding her.

In the 10 hours we've known her, we have learned a little about Riley:

Likes: Sleeping on Dad's chest, having her cheeks stroked, sucking on her hands (actually, the sleeve covering her hands).

Dislikes: Being naked (too cold!), dirty diapers