L A Y L A : A DOG'S LIFE

My daughter Noelle and her husband Roger had to make the difficult decision to put this girl to rest today. Cancer SUCKS! It stinks, it is mean and hateful. Stealing the life of this precious girl. She had surgery in February and for a brief while she was fine. She became ill this week so quickly. Lymphoma, a horrible, awful, disease. Layla was 9.

The goofiest and silliest girly dog ever. Our son Jeremy called her "Rufus". She was so silly, she knew he meant her and she would acknowledge him. We all cried so many tears.

Layla was Roger's girl. A woman I worked with, had a sister, who said she had to get a new home for Layla because her apartment had height restrictions. It broke Noelle's heart to see her go into a shelter so she convinced Roger they needed Layla to be friends with Trek, their other furry phamily friend. The sad story about all this is that woman bought a white boxer after she dumped Layla. Sometime when you don't want pets, I wonder why there isn't something to notify breeders and pet stores that you do not really care about the animal.

After her February surgery she came home, much to the delight of Trek. Now anyone who knows Trek knows he is very unfriendly to other pets but Layla was special. He loved her. I would stop by the house a few days a week to check on them, fill their food or water and let them run in the yard. The last few days I noticed Trek did not go too far away from her. Say a prayer for Trek. He is going to be so sad without his number one girl.

Layla once walked right up to Rose, Nick's cat and stuck her face in Rose's space. The claws came out and Rose swiped her nose. Didn't stop Layla, she looked as if the cat truly wanted to be her friend and Rose swiped her a second time, drawing blood. She also won Trek's heart, even Harrison and Trek have this volatile relationship. Trek barks wildly and Harrison scolds the dog! You have to step between them! But Layla was different. The only naughty thing Trek would do was steal her treats. I learned to bring a few extra ones when I went over to their house. I would tell him, ladies first, and he started to understand. I will miss those moments.

Roger and Noelle gave Layla a good life. They loved her unconditionally, something we do not always see when it comes to pets. But she wasn't their pet, she was their phamily.

Rest In Peace Layla, we will miss your silliness