I am sorry -- we all feel your pain. It is a deep pain as so many can attest to. I love the picture and hope you can remember the great times over the years, until you meet again.
I am so sorry. You get a lot of family history wrapped up in a dog. You look back over the years and they are always a part of you and your family. Yes, you had a good run with her, I am glad for her sake that she did not suffer a long illness.
Thanks everyone. I think her ashes will be ready today. Normally we bury them under a tree in the pasture but with all the heavy rain it wasn’t possible. The other dogs are getting back to normal, guarding the sheep and chickens.
I remind myself how lucky we were to have her. She was by no means perfect. Some folks were shopping for their first sheep. My husband was explaining about LGDs and how devoted they were, that they would never harm the sheep. Up walks Zoie with a foreleg in her mouth. She drops it in front of me proudly. She had gotten into our ‘dead pen’ and apparently felt she needed to present us with a souvenir. We didn’t make that sale.