Amber is gone

On Thursday I took her with me to visit my dad who lives about 3 hours outside of Boise. She hadn't been on any hikes in about a week and a half and was seeming pretty antsy to do something. I had hope! My dad is one of her very favorite people in the whole world. When we got to his place Thursday night she was all over him, licking his face, nibbling his nose (she used to occasionally draw blood!), and leaping up at him, so excited to see him again.
On Friday morning we took everyone on a short hike. It was beautiful there, hills of yellow flowers, perfect hiking temperature. She ran and ran.

I didn't get any good clear action shots of her.

I had her pose in this neat old brick building along the trail.

She ate really well that night and slept so soundly, right by my side, under the covers on Dad's futon.









I woke up this morning to her looking at me, wagging her tail. I reached up to scratch her ears and rub her cheeks. She rolled over and started making her bear cub noises, rooting in the covers on top of me.
We took the dogs on another little hike, so pretty in the shade with butterflies, hummingbirds and wildflowers everywhere. Amber didn't run like she usually does but did enjoy it. I noticed that she was stopping very often to pee, much more than was her "normal".
While Dad and I stopped to watch the creek for a while, she and Rye dug a nice hole together, taking turns, throwing dirt down the back of my shirt. 
She stopped to point something along the trail.

 Back at Dad's house she couldn't stop trying to pee. We drove the 3 1/2 hours home. I picked up my husband and we headed to the emergency clinic. She tried to pee on their lawn, nothing, tried to pee in their lobby, nothing, tried to pee in the exam room, nothing. It was torture.
The vet said she had very enlarged lymph nodes, the "iliac" lymph nodes as well as the "sublumbar" lymph nodes. We talked about the stent. She did not feel that it would give her very much time and that the time would not be quality time. So we made the decision to say goodbye to my baby dog.
Dear Amber,
I will never ever forget you. You are in my heart, you are my heart, forever. If there is such a thing as a dog soul mate, you are it for sure. I can still feel your eyes on me, wanting something. I can still see you at my feet since someone just let off a firecracker. I can still feel your softer than soft ears between my fingers. I can see your eyes light up when I mention "bedtime" or "daddy" and how you would rush to the doorway of the bedroom but then turn around and watch to make sure I was coming too.
I hope that where ever you are, you are not alone. You would be in the laps of the angels if they would let you.
You were my most beautiful athlete. One of my favorite things in the world was to watch you run through the fields. A walk just won't be the same without you. Life just won't be the same either.
I love you my baby dog.

 Amber at around 8 weeks.

Amber at 8 years, 9 months old. Her very last photo.