Taylor:

Two years ago today Taylor crossed that rainbow bridge.  He was 11 1/2 years old and we had only had the privilege of his company for 6 weeks.  He had been rescued from a bad situation where he was living in a hole in the ground that he dug. His life  prior to rescue was pretty miserable. He came to our attention when he was in rescue where he had been for quite a while. He was kept in a small room where he would not be in a kennel and he was let out twice a day. 

Taylor had arthritis in his hips and couldn't function well with his back legs.. The shelter brought him to our home to see if he could handle the stairs. He could not and when we realized he couldn't get into the house and he was to big for us to carry him he had to go back to the shelter. My heart was broken when I saw him go. I couldn't shake the loss and how he deserved a home where he could be pampered and loved. 

It occurred to me if we could put a door where the window in the back of the house was he could live with us. We got going immediately on installing a door where it would be level. Once installed we went immediately to adopt Taylor. Wild horses could not have held him back - arthritis and all - to keep from getting in the van. I had ordered a load of road base and built  a ramp where he could get into the back yard and into the house having no steps to deal with. 

What we didn't know was that he had a large tumor on his spleen and nothing could be done for him. One day he refused food and water and the vet had warned us this would happen. Taylor was ready to go and he went peacefully having experienced 6 weeks of the good life. It seemed very unfair to me to weigh 6 weeks against 11 1/2 years of a hard and difficult life but we were glad to at least give him those 6 weeks. For having lived such a difficult life Taylor was the perfect family member and his greatest love was to lay next to me in the grass and let the sun warm his bones. 

During those 6 weeks Taylor made a huge impact on our lives and I know we did on his. At least he had the good life for 6 weeks. He deserved much more than just 6 weeks.