This is a hard post to write... In January of 2020 we had to say goodbye to our pup Maxx. He was such a good boy that loved being around us, especially out in nature. We had many adventures with him, right up till the end. Maxx lived such a long and happy life and we are incredibly grateful for the time we had with him.
When I was a senior in high school I decided I wanted to adopt a golden retriever puppy. I found a breeder close by and went to check out the puppies. There was this adorable little goofy guy that seemed to stand out from the rest. The breeder said he would give me a discount on that one due to a black spot on his hip that was in the perfect shape of a 3. The breeder stated that because of the black spot no on would breed with him regardless of his breed. I took one look at him and knew he was mine. We instantly bonded and became family.
I felt as tho we grew up together. He was there for all the job switches, the different boyfriends, the breakups that followed. No matter what, he was always there to greet me with a smile. There was a short period where we lived apart due to me moving into a small bedroom. While I was there he stayed with my mom (who had a big backyard). Even tho we lived apart, we still spent tons of time together going on hikes and hanging out with the family. Eventually I moved into a two bedroom condo with a decent size patio that would be perfect for us. Shortly after moving in, I met Luke. Needless to say, Maxx fully approved! Luke took amazing care of Maxx, really getting his health/weight on track so he can adventure more with us.
As the years went on, Maxx's face became more grey and he started to slow down. When he was 12 years old he injured his knee but due to his age there wasn't much the vet could do but manage the pain. Maxx took it like a champ and you wouldn't even be able to tell he was injured by the way he held himself. While I was pregnant with Autumn, Maxx began to have seizures. After the first seizure, the vet said that they don't like to put dogs on seizure medication until they've had several of them and to just monitor him. His blood work came back good so we were hoping this seizure was fluke and he wouldn't have anymore. He had 3 more in the span of a few months. With each seizure he had, they became longer and closer together. We were told that it was most likely a brain tumor and there wasn't much we could do but to make him comfortable. We came to the conclusion to not let him suffer any longer and to say our final goodbyes.
We had a vet come to the house to do the procedure. Maxx was surrounded by family, comfortable in his bed with his head on my lap. After 14 amazing years together, I felt him fall asleep peacefully. It was the single hardest thing we have ever had to do. But knowing that he was no longer in pain made it a little less painful. He was truly amazing and was more to us then just a dog... he was family.
We will miss and love you forever Maxx.