We did as much testing as we could manage, but in the end no cause was found.
Last night we let her go.
Maddie was an awesome dog. We got her as a rescue when she was about 2 in June of 2002. Her original people had moved and just left her behind. She got lucky. Instead of calling Animal Control, one of the neighbors got her to a private rescue, we found her on Petfinder, and the rest is history.
She and Sammie and Speedy grew up together. Speedy wasn't even a year old when she joined our household. It's strange now to think of them all being young together, but those were good times. We got into Agility when she was close to 5 years old. I had gotten into training with Speedy and I wanted another dog to train. Maddie and I started doing Agility because it was the only sport we tried that she didn't hate. Later in life she did a little Freestyle, but Maddie became my Agility dog. She is the one who taught me to love the sport, and she always had a great time running, even when she was a big old stinker!!
She loved to go to camp every summer. She loved the beach. She loved her brothers and she enjoyed her new little sister who came last year. She loved our yard. She loved to lay in the sun. She loved to snuggle in front of the fire on a cold winter evening. She loved to sleep and she loved to play. She had so much joy. More than I even realized at the time.
I am grateful that I was unemployed last year and I got to spend the whole winter with my dogs. It helps knowing that I was with her so much during her last year. And I am glad that we had one last good summer. It's hard to believe that it was just over a month ago that she was enjoying the beach - older, slower - but still herself and still having a great time.
I will miss you forever, Miss Maddie Lynn.
