Sad day in the Bruce house...

I thought I posted about this already but I guess I hadn't.
I am gonna paste the blog I wrote on myspace into here.

She wasn't just a dog to us- she was a part of our family.
I got Dallie for Christmas in 2002. I was a junior in high school.
She was so tiny and just adorable. Little did I know that she would cause so much turmoil but so much happiness for so many years. Dallie was a typical lab puppy but with alot of extra spunk. She chewed EVERYTHING for her first 2 years of life and she got so excited when people talked to her that she would pee everywhere. We thought that would never change- but it did. She lived in the house with me, mom, dad, and Reece for a couple years then I moved in with Bawk-ba so of course she came with me. She was really always too big to be a house dog but I just loved her so much that I couldn't not have here with me- especially while Brandon was deployed- she was my saving grace. If there were ever a thunderstorm- HOLY COW! She was terrified- if she was in the house, she would hide under the bed and shake. If she was outside, she would claw, scratch, whine, bark, even tear through sheet rock to try to get into the house (we learned this the hard way by leaving her in the garage during a storm while we weren't home- sound familiar (Marley and Me). I could easily write book about her and all her crazy episodes but never once did we not love her. She was on of those dogs that you loved to hate. She was a pain and crazy all the time. Mom and Brandon have always said she acts just like me :) Scared of everything, easy to love, and loved all people :)

One of my favorite Dallie stories was while Brandon was stationed in Colorado. Me and Dallie were at Bawkbas as usual and it was a little after midnight. Dallie was about 2 and she followed me around EVERYWHERE! We had to keep all the doors shut so she wouldn't chew stuff. So I was coming out of Bawkbas room and she was right under me, as usual. I shut the door and heard a little yelp- well I looked down at Dallie and she was panting hard and her tounge was hanging out like always- she looked no different so I kept cleaning up and getting ready for bed. Well I felt something wet on my arm and I looked down and it was blood- could not figure out where it came from until I looked down at Dallie- I HAD CHOPPED THE END OF HER TAIL OFF IN THE DOOR- and it was squirting blood like I chopped her arm off and of course I started freaking out so that makes her freak out so her tail is wagging like crazy which means blood is going all over the place, the walls, the floor, EVERYWHERE. So i am crying because I feel like I have hurt her even though she isn't even phased by all of this. So I call Brandon and he calls Matt- so Matt comes over (it is after 1am at this point) and calls his Dad (who is a vet) and he tells Matt what to do until I can get her to the vet the next day. So a gazillion dollars later- Dallie had a short stumpy tail :)

She caused a lot of chaos in all the lives she touched. She got moved from a few places (Thanks Matt and Tiff and Casey for dealing with her briefly) and finally we decided she would stay at my parents house until me and Brandon got a place then we would finally get to have her. That was going to be in the next month :( She moved to my parents in March-ish. Brandon and my dad built a good size pen for her and put a little shed in there so she would have shade. Well she kept digging out- and my parents kept putting her back in. Well in April, we decided taht it would be best just letting her run- knowing there is always a risk of her running away or getting ran over. That is just part of having a dog not pinned up in the country. So she has done great all the months- never seen her happier. Her and Reece's blue heeler became best friends- running in the pond, tormenting the horse, and playing non-stop. She would great you at your car door every time you pulled up to the house. She was the best at making a really bad day instantly better.

Well on Friday I was going to be taking Reece out to my parents house when my dad got home. So I was watching Marley and Me and of course it made me super sad so I decided to go out early so I could play with Dallie and man am I glad I did. She got hit by a car about 6:32am on Saturday morning. She broke her back so she died instantly. Her and Rope were out playing and they were headed back towards my parents house and Rope got across but Dallie didn't. She probably never even saw the car. It was a complete accident so of course I'm not upset with anybody. It is just part of it- I'm sad because I am gonna miss her so much. She was our first baby. There will never be another Dallie. She would have been 7 on Halloween this year. Man I'm gonna miss dressing her up :( I got to see her right before my dad and Brandon buried her. She had no blood. She just looked like she was sleeping. They buried her on my parents land down in the trees in a shady spot. I am ordering a small little doggy headstone and Reece is making a cross to put down there. We will always go visit her. I am so thankful for Brandon- he has been my rock, as always. The bear he bought me YEARS ago that I sleep with even has her mark on it- she chewed one of the ears off :) I will never forgot her as long as live. She was the worlds worst but best dog. RIP Princess 10/31/02-08/08/09 I will miss you so much.
That was incredibly long- but she really was family to me. I can't seem to stop crying but I know it will get easier and easier. As my dad always told me- It's just all a part of life.