Our sweet Lulu was put to rest on November 29th. She will live in our hearts and memories now. It was a hard day for our family. Lulu was 11 years old and had become a permanent family member. I remember when Mike and I brought her home around the middle of December, 11 years ago in a tiny little box. We chose her because she was the runt and Mike connected with her quickly. When we brought her home she cried all night and I remember thinking should we just take her back to her sisters. She warmed our hearts though and we fell in love with this sweet ugly looking dog. She was cuddly but stubborn and she was so ugly that she was cute. That was Mike's favorite saying when describing her. If you know a pugs personality they usually bond with one person. But not Lulu. She bonded with Mike and then when Dylan came she bonded with him. She always obeyed them better then she would me or Tate. Lulu was our little girl and then came Dylan and she became the big sister. She would protect him like no other. I remember getting in the shower after we brought Dylan home from the hospital and she sat right by his bed. As he grew she would stay right by him if I left the room. One time I was in the bathroom and she came barking like I needed to go check on Dylan. Sure enough Dylan was getting into the cupboard where I kept some cleaning supplies. As Dylan grew she would follow him around the house even if he had friends here. Alot of times we placed her in her crate just because she would follow him and his friends everywhere. Tate came and she became his guard dog too. She was awesome with our boys. She followed them everywhere and would always protect them . The boys loved to take her on walks around the neighborhood and we noticed this past year the boys would take her half way around the block and bring her back saying she was tired. Lulu would be panting and we knew she was aging. I loved to sit in my recliner in my room and she would sit on the floor and wait for me to pet her belly. She was such a cuddly dog and I think that has helped our boys in being so cuddly. Since Mike has been working at home she would sit in his office and would sleep in there often. Mike has really missed this and says our house is too quite now. We never realized how loud she was with her sneezes, her coughing, and her pug noises until she was gone. Our house is really quite and that has been really hard. Over the month of Novemeber Lulu really starting aging and I could tell she was in pain. She had been battling an ear infection since April and we had her into the vet often trying to get her better. The ear infection would go away and then a week or two later it was back. We put her on thyroid medication and changed her diet, but nothing seemed to help. Her arthritis was also bothering her and she began to wimper when the barometric pressure dropped. The weekend before we put her to sleep I noticed that her right side was swelling and then she began coughing. I told Mike it was time and he was not ready yet. I could not see her suffer anymore and so we decided to take her to our awesome honest vet for further care. When the vet saw her she told us she had fluid in her lungs and she was not able to fight the ear infection. We both knew it was time to say goodbye. We just did not know how hard it was going to be. They say dogs know when they are going to "doggy heaven" and I can tell you Lulu knew. She was giving me loves all the way to the vet office and she was calm and cuddly with Mike. We said our goodbyes and then they gave her a sedative. She did not suffer and went peacefully. After they gave her the sedative we could see she was already going. Her respirations were very shallow and then the vet gave her the medication to stop her heart. It was the first time I saw that little tail of her's go completly straight and we knew she was gone. Mike and I bawled like little babies and then Mike when home to get the boys and brought them to see her. We stayed for about an hour with the boys and our little family shed a thousand tears or more. We will miss her in "pug mode," all of those noisy sounds, and her little personality around here. Many people have asked us about getting another dog, but as for now we just want to remember her for a little while. I can say she has taught our family true love and what the cycle of life is all about. She has also taught our boys about responsibility and Dylan misses doing her chores. We love you Lulu...
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