One of my favorite dogs ever has died—my daughter’s dog Langley. Langley has been a fixture in our family for over eleven years. She passed away suddenly this week, just hours after the vet found a massive tumor in her abdomen.
As my daughter says, Langley’s last gift was not making her choose whether to treat the tumor, as all of the options were risky and difficult. Langley lived her best life until the end.
Langley has featured in this blog several times (see here and here). I became attached to her when she stayed with my husband and me for several weeks back in 2015. I loved to watch her run across an open field at the dog park, enjoyment visible on her face. Unfortunately, she fought with other dogs, and trips to dog parks ended. But she remained a strong walker and hiker on a leash throughout her life.
Although she didn’t like other dogs, Langley loved people. All people. And because she loved our daughter most of all, Langley expanded her horizons to include our son-in-law and his dog in her pack. The two dogs didn’t always have an easy relationship, but for their humans’ sakes, they tolerated each other, though they each preferred their own human.
Langley further expanded her pack to include two babies. Although we wondered how she would do with these little critters (not much bigger than the rats she stalked in the back yard), she saw them as an extension of our daughter and took to them immediately. She became our older granddaughter’s protector, and would have done the same for our second granddaughter if she’d had the chance.
Langley will be mourned and missed.
We all should hope to be remembered so fondly.
