Back in September of 2000, I came home from my classes at U of M Dearborn.  I walked in the side door (of my parents house, which was my house, too, at the time) and saw this little ball of black and white fluff. 

"WHAT is THAT?!" I remember saying.

That was a puppy my parents adopted.  That puppy was soon named Mya, and was the a living nightmare for me for about a year.  What on earth could a harmless puppy do to be a nightmare (other than the normal puppy antics?) Well, she was...a puppy!  And at the time, we had another very OLD dog named Lady.  Mya wanted to be a puppy.  Lady wanted to be old.  I resented Mya for being such a nuisance towards Lady. 

A year later, Lady passed away.  I remember the day clearly.  At this point, her kidneys were failing rapidly and she could not hold any food down.  She was skin and bones, so we knew, without speaking, it was time.  When we returned home from the vet, the first thing Mya did was look in all of Lady's favorite spots for her buddy.

It was then that I allowed myself to love Mya.

Mya has always been the biggest (and by big, I mean BIG! ...more on that, later) sweetie.  She loved to cuddle and be rubbed.  She LOVED to be close.  All through my remaining years at home before I got married, I slept every night with Mya.  In fact, we shared a pillow!  Mya was a medical disaster, though.  She had all the proper puppy care, but she was developed Bells Palsey (say wha?!) on the left side of her face.  Due to the paralysis, she developed a chronic eye condition which made her eye look...to put it bluntly...disgusting.  Totally harmless, but yuck.  Throughout the diagnosis of the Bells Palsy, we found out she had some pretty serious thyroid problems, which caused her to be HUGE!  She was such a big ball of dog.  You couldn't help but smile when you looked at her. 

She had the curliest hair.  When it was humid, it curled even more.  She also had what I am assuming was a cowlick right on her nose between her eyes.  When her hair would get long, the cowlick would form what my sister and I referred to as the "rainbow of fun", because it looked just like that...a rainbow.

Mya LOVED to "sing".  Her favorites were God Bless America and I Say A Little Prayer.  You could even just hum the songs and she would immediately "sing".  Also, if you talked real low in her ear or hummed deeply to her, she would make this crazy noise.  I referred to it as her dove impression.  Think "cooo!  cooo!"

Mya was Mya.  My parents worked with her relentlessly to keep her healthy.  Special diets, special medications, you name it.  She just had a bad batch of doggy genes, I suppose.

One thing I can say for certain, though, is that with all of Mya's health issues, it took ANGELS to put up with them.  My mom and dad put up with them.  Spent countless dollars, and loved her all the while.

Tomorrow Mya has an appointment with the vet.  We are pretty certain that Mya will gain her puppy wings and fly to Heaven.  She is very sick and her quality of life is extremely poor.  Prolonging it would be wrong, being that we are her family. 

The vet will come in to my parents house.  Mya won't have to leave.  I can't be there, as I have to work, but I know, with my mom and dad there, that Mya will feel the immense love she has felt all of her years.

I love you, Mya.