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We had to put him to sleep on 2/3 in the ER clinic (night of Superbowl Sunday). He bloated, and he was too far gone to save him. It happened so fast. But it was really his time - he was 9, which is old for a mastiff. He had a great life. But he was mostly deaf, mostly incontinent, starting to lose bowel control, and starting to have more neurological deficit in his rear end. And his knees were bad. But, despite all that, he got around just fine, and he was HAPPY.

He has been with us since our first wedding anniversary, our first baby, through the Army and four different states that we lived in and five different houses. We knew this was coming, one way or another – but it still doesn’t prepare you, I guess.

He was such an amazing dog. He was a Champion show dog. He loved kids, dogs, cats - everybody. When we were in the Army, people would bring their visiting family members to ask if they could show them Kodi. He was like a tourist attraction, and he loved it. I feel like this is a dog eulogy - sorry. I am just so sad.

Anna is taking it kind of hard, which surprises me a little. He was “my” dog, and she just kind of tolerated him for a long time - because she didn't like being slobbered on. But she cried and cried when she said good bye last night, and all the way home. She slept with us, but she wanted to hold his collar. She held on to it all night. Every time she rubbed it, his tags would jingle, and I'd think - "Where's Kodi? Oh yeah...." .

Now, I find myself doing dumb things, like not wanting to mop the kitchen floor, because it has his last muddy little (big) paw prints on it. Or trying to climb out of bed in the middle of the night, and stepping way far away from the bed so that I don't step on him sleeping next to me. Or, getting off the freeway because I need to go to the feed store for more dog food. Each time it is like having to realize it all over again. Damn.....this sucks. I'm not usually one to dwell on the negative, so we'll move on to the 'remembering good things' part....

So, anyway – here are a few of my favorite pics of Kodi. He was a funny dog. We’ll miss him.