I had been dreading the day Ice would leave me since she was a puppy. Dog owners know that our beloved pets just don’t live as long as we do. Yet, I had always comforted myself with the thought that Jack Russells live relatively long for dogs, 15 to 16 years and I had even heard of longer. Ice was only eleven years old when she fell ill one day, throwing up and not eating. I thought she had just eaten something bad. Unfortunately, we got the worst case scenario: it was her kidneys.

She had tests run in March where her kidneys were fine so we thought the problem was acute and after a few days in the animal hospital, she’d be home again. To our painful shock, Chronic Kidney Disease had set in and within days, Ice was deteriorating quickly, not eating and not responding to any of the treatments. It all happened so fast! She threw up one Thursday night and the following Thursday she was put to rest so that she would no longer suffer. Eight days later, I’m still in shock. Ice, the dog you saw in this post and that post is gone forever.

Ice's postcard shot

Ice joined my life when she was 10 weeks old and I was almost 21. She’s been my roommate and best friend my entire adult life and I can’t remember what it was like before the jingling of her collar was always in the background. Ice lived in four different apartments with me,  screened each date until we found Lon, walked down the aisle as our ring bearer, was undoubtedly Caya’s first word, and she was a true member of our family.

Since last week, food just hasn’t tasted that good to me. I know what to eat when I’m sick and I know what to make for celebrations, but what do you eat when you’re heart broken?

If you would, please consider helping the Humane Society of New York, in Ice’s memory: Ice’s Fund.

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