It's hard to say goodbye and let go

Tonight we said goodbye to one of my very best friends.
Her arthritis had gotten really painful.
Her sight was almost gone.
Her kidneys were shutting down.
So it was time to let her go.
I couldn't be selfish anymore and watch her be in pain just because I would miss her.

Lucy was my constant companion for a very long time.
Lucy was my only roommate when I moved out.
Lucy was my Diabetic Alert Dog, who saved my life more than once.
Lucy was the therapy dog that I took to work with me to cheer up my clients.
She spent many days under my desk waiting patiently for me to finish my paper work so we could go play.
She was who I cuddled with to fall asleep.
Lucy was my way to meet people. The guys in the singles ward always loved her. We walked her in SSL and people would stop to talk about her. Lucy was the reason Sam asked me to come by the day after our date because he wanted to meet her.
She was my little ball of fur, she was only 8 weeks old when I brought her home.
I tried to crate train her, that only lasted 2 nights then she started sleeping in my bed.
For a long time our family was Sam, me and Lucy. Then we added Louie, said good bye to Louie and added Seth.
The day we brought Seth home from the hospital we had read tons of books about how to introduce a new baby to a dog etc. She loved him from the moment she met him. She however was not a big fan of healthcare man who brought Seth's billibed. She did not like someone by her baby.
She was just as good with  the rest of the kids too.  She loved our kids.
She was so sweet and patient. I once had a client that got really excited and bit her ear. She just nodded and looked at him.  Shook her head and sat there until we could get him off.
She was always hyper active. Training her they would joke her butt never touched  the floor when she would sit because her tail was always wagging so fast she could get it to sit still long enough.
I could go on forever about my sweet Lucy dog. I could post a million more pictures. If she isn't the star in the pictures she is in the background of most of them if they were taken at our house because she was always there making sure we were safe.

Even the moments before she passed she was trying to make me feel better. I had her head in my hands and was sobbing and she was licking away my tears as the meds went in, in mid lick she went limp and her little tongue was still out.  The music in the vet's office started playing Celebrate by Cyndi Lauper as she passed, I  have to tell myself it was a sign from Lucy letting me know she was ok.

I just have to remind myself that she is not in pain, she is happy playing with Louie in heaven. And maybe my heart won't ache so much from missing one of my best friends.