Katie, Rosie, and God’s Love
Katie had been back on dialysis for months and her prognosis was not great when I got the call from my mom. She wanted to purchase Katie a puppy to be a companion during the difficult days ahead. I wasn’t sure that was a good idea and told her I’d talk to Susan about it. The next week mom showed up at our house with Rosie.
A Special Companion
Katie quickly fell in love with Rosie and they became best friends. During long hours on home dialysis, Rosie was always a faithful companion. She tolerated Mickey Mouse ears and doll dresses. She was a mixture of high energy when chasing a ball and calm comfort to her master. Rosie would sit with Katie, play with Katie, and sleep with Katie. She’s the first dog I ever let live in the house.
When Katie passed away, it took a while before Rosie stopped going into Katie’s room looking for her. Of course, Rosie was a part of our family and was loved by Katie’s sisters. She has also been a part of Katie that remained with us for another decade and a half. She survived a copperhead attack that left a scar on her nose, a bite from a huge rattlesnake, and a near drowning.
Rosie’s Last Days
In recent months, we’ve known that Rosie was nearing the end of her life. She had mostly good days. However, she was having more difficulty getting up and down. As she aged, she lost her hearing and was developing cataracts.
Just last week I talked to the vet about bringing Rosie in for a wellness check and possibility of putting her to rest. Susan and I are preparing to take a summer vacation and we didn’t want Kari and Libbie to have to deal with things if Rosie passed while we were gone. When I got home that evening, Rosie was running around the back yard like a young pup. We decided that it wasn’t time to make that trip to the vet.
https://dennishester.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IMG_1547.movOur Heartfelt Prayer
Susan and I simply prayed the Lord would take care of us as He has so many other times in our lives. We prayed that when it was time, she would pass easily. We prayed that we wouldn’t have to make the decision to put her down. We also prayed that the girls wouldn’t be left to deal with Rosie’s passing when we were gone.
The Lord answered all of our prayers the beginning of the next week. On Monday, I left Rosie outside with Koda and Bo on a beautiful sunny day. She always seemed to do best on the warm sunny days outdoors. At lunch she was busy barking at the neighbor’s dogs! When I came home from the office in the evening, she had passed away and it was clear she had only been gone for a short time. Susan and I loaded her little body in the truck and headed to May to put her to rest.
Another Chapter Closes
When Katie passed almost 15 years ago, we had Katie’s two favorite images etched on her stone – a panda bear and Rosie. We arrived right at sunset. The Lord had softened the ground by weeks of spring rains. It only took a few minutes and Rosie was laid to rest under her image near Katie’s body. As the sun set on June 3rd, another chapter in our lives was closed.
God’s Grace is Abundant
Throughout this chapter, we found more gentle reminders that the Lord is with us. The book is not finished on Katie’s impact on this world. The Lord is still using her life and memory to teach us and touch others. I am grateful for the Lord’s gentle reminders in large and small ways that He is with us and He loves us. His grace is enough. His timing is perfect. When the sun sets on my life, I’m confident He will be there still guiding and providing.
Katie was just over 6 months old when she faced one of the most difficult times of her life. She was having kidney failure and was brought into Dallas Children’s Medical Center for a catheter placement so we could begin peritoneal dialysis. She was very tiny so as the catheter was place in her abdomen it nicked her bowl and she became septic. She quickly became very ill. The medical team recommended that we seriously consider letting her go, because of the many severe medical problems she faced. We were forced to make a difficult decision to discontinue treatment or to take drastic measures to save her life.