We'll Never Forget You, Ruby

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since we said goodbye to Ruby the Wonder Dog. We still miss her. We talk of her often. "Hey, remember Ruby?" one of us will say. "She was the best," another will reply. "There will never be another like her."

Despite her massive size, she was my "replacement baby" during my struggle with infertility. She was the thing I nurtured and cuddled while I hoped for a baby of my own. I may not have had to wipe her slobber off my shoulder, like a real baby, but I definitely had to wipe it from my pants several times a day. :) And it was from her that I received the unconditional love and absolute adoration that I craved. She didn't like to be more than 5 feet away from me at any given moment. And when Jeremy was around, well, she liked to be directly on top of him, if possible.

With all the baby excitement and hullabaloo, the anniversary of Ruby's passing came and went quietly. It was not unnoticed by Travis, Jeremy, and I, but the sting was swallowed up by the overwhelming love we felt for our sweet baby girl. I still don't quite know what to make of the fact that Keira Jane Lucas joined our family on October 4, 2010, the exact one-year anniversary of Ruby's death. (After a short battle with cancer, we let Ruby go on October 4, 2009.)

That part of me that still believes in fairy tales and magical things has a hunch that Ruby was up in heaven pulling a few strings for us. She always was pretty persuasive.

In honor of Ruby this month, here's a photo book I created using the templates at Shutterfly.com. I gave it to Jeremy for Christmas last year.

Click here to view this photo book larger

I wish you could read all the captions on the pages, but they're hard to make out online. Ah, well. I think the sentiment is clear.

 

She was one in a million, that Ruby.

Comments

[Jennifer L]

Oh, your previous post made me laugh, and this one made me a little teary. We're approaching the one year anniversary of our dog's passing too--we still find ourselves calling for Roswell when we drop food on the floor. Up in dog heaven she's wishing she could still pick up scraps.

[Colleen Harker]

I love it! If you choose the full screen option and then the single page view, you can read all of the captions.

[Stefani Meyer]

I Believe!

[Hokiecoyote.blogspot.com]

I have a 14 year old lab that just went through radiation treatment for her cancer last month. I've used shutterfly many times and love your book.

[Amy Kalscheur]

What a wonderful gift - amazing book and heartfelt story told! TFS.

[Elizabeth]

Well if that's not ever an argument for some sort of magical cosmic activity I don't know what is. : ) It's hard to believe that it's been a year since you visited!

[Jill]

Oh my goodness I am so over the moon excited for your family now!

Reading this post about Rudy reminds of me our 5 year old that asked to pray for our Deacon. He passed away last October too. It is so sweet that these amazing furbabies can live on in our hearts.

Congratulations again on the arrival of your sweet Keira!!

[Kelli]

That's amazing about the dates! I have teary eyes.