Coal, we will miss you

Coal

It is with deep sadness that I announce the death of my parents' beloved dog, Coal,
a Black Lab, son of champions and friend to anyone he met.
Avid runner& hiker, strong and beautiful.
He adored his best friend, Sally. She stayed with him until the end.

You will be deeply missed but never forgotten.
Love, Wendy

Okay, I know this doesn't sounds like me. I'm not a big "animal person."
I don't love the smell, hair on my clothes, barking...
but I still have a soft heart towards them, even if I don't own one.
Sally and Coal were great together.
They were fun, energetic,
great for my kids,
running partners for my folks.
I felt better knowing that my Mom was out with her big dogs, not all alone.

Proof that dogs are good for the soul

But let me back up. I'm just going to copy in an email I wrote to a friend, to make this faster and easier:
On Saturday my parents' dogs disappeared. The gate was shut, and there were no clues.

This morning my parents checked the animal shelter and the lab rescue, but no luck. Then we had a tip from a friend this afternoon, but it didn't pan out either. The dogs were not my mom's. While my mom was checking out that lead, another friend stopped by here and said that he had spotted two dogs (one that was down.) I went to check it out myself, because I didn't want my mom to find one of her dogs dead. Sure enough, it was them. :-(
Sally was okay-- just tired, cold, hungry....she wouldn't leave her sidekick Coal, who must have been hit. I didn't get too close. I had all four kids with me, and it was difficult to hold on to one large black lab, and call my mom on the cell phone. My poor mom. This has been a rough day on her. She got Sally home and then went back to make sure that Coal was not suffering. He wasn't. She was able to say her good-byes....came back sobbing. I feel so sad for her.

This is on the heels of an already emotional day.