Snoop James: One happy boy!

I've been putting this post off for some time now - for many reasons.  #1 - I'm very sad.  #2 - I'm afraid I can't do justice to what Snoop really meant to me and our family.  And #3 - To be totally honest, I have been worried about what people will think.  I worry that people will think its lame to be so upset about losing him, but more so I worry that someone may have negative feelings toward him in some way.  I guess I would call this the, "It's just a dog" mentality.  Thinking that someone might have anything but positive thoughts about Snoop literally breaks my heart.  What I came to realize is that there are always going to be people like that, and you know what?  I don't care what they think.  It is NOT lame, and Snoop was NOT "just a dog".  So I will just say this - Please, if you are someone who might have those negative thoughts or feelings, just skip this post.  I also just want to say that there have been so many people who are not necessarily pet people, but that have been incredibly sympathetic and supportive toward us, and I am so grateful for them!  They really do not know how much that means to me and to Brig.  Thank you!

Alright.  Now on to the good stuff :)

 

 This is the little puppy that would one day become one of my very best friends.  Snoop James - named after Brig of course ;)  I didn't know him for the first half of his life - I wish I would have.  But I can tell you that the 4 years I got to spend with him were some of the best of my life.  He was there with me for all of it.  Snoop has been with Brig and I throughout our entire relationship.  When we lost him, we didn't just lose a pet, we lost a very special member of our family.  It has been over a month since he passed, and we miss him every single day.

 

 Originally, my intention was to do a post and write down everything I could about Snoop.  Memories, facts, pictures, etc.  After his birthday, I decided that what I really wanted to do was make a book for Brig (and for me) with all of those things in it.  It is very special to us, and I'm glad we will have that to keep to remember him.  I gave it to Brig as a surprise, and it was very special to see the tears in his eyes as he looked through and read it.  I wont ever forget that.

  In this post, I decided that what I really want to do is just post some of my favorite pictures of Snoop, and write some of my feelings.  So yes, there will be a lot of pictures, and yes there will probably be a lot of writing :)

 

 

I love this picture of Snoop.  He always wanted to be as close to us as he possibly could.  It is really weird not having him around.  We are getting more used to it, but our house still feels really lonely without him.  I have never met a happier dog.  He was so lovey, and happy, and he made us laugh every single day with his funny personality. 

These two are two peas in a pod.  Last November, Sammy got really sick, and we were told by the vet that she wouldn't live more than a week.  When we brought her home, Snoop was so excited to see her!  He had been so sad without her.  He was always so protective of her, and I just love looking at this picture and remembering how he just wanted to take care of her.  Sammy is a miracle dog.  It is amazing that she is still with us, and we are so glad to have her.

Snoop loved to be outside.  And he loved being by his family.

This is one of the things that I miss the most about Snoop.  We have a folding chair that blocks the entrance out of the kitchen so that they can't get out.  Snoop could have moved it to get out at any time, but he was such a good dog, and he knew he wasn't supposed to, so he almost never did.  But, as I said above, he always wanted to be as close to us as possible, and he was always looking for us, and waiting for us to come back in the room when we weren't there.  So, he would stick his head through the bars of the chair and just rest it on his huge paws and wait.  Sometimes in the morning if we had slept in too late, he would start to cry for us.  I loved it, and I miss it so much.

Love that droopy, sleepy face :)  Snoop wasn't really your typical lab.  He was really broad and big and very muscly.  Everywhere we went, people were always asking if he was mixed with something.  We were asked if he was mixed with a Rottweiler several times.  We always got so many compliments on what a good looking dog he was.  Everyone that he met LOVED him, and he loved them right back :)  Every time I watch the movie "UP" I think about how that dog is SO much like Snoop.  That part where the dog says says, "My name is Doug.  I just met you, and I LOVE you!" is EXACTLY Snoop.  He really did love everyone he ever met!

I sent this picture to Brig while he was in Germany for his study abroad last summer.  They sure did miss him!  I grew really close to the dogs during that time.  It was just me and them.  I am so glad that I have those special memories.  We went to the park by our house a lot.  It will always be a very special place to me.

This was one of the last pictures I took of Snoop before he passed.  We love to look at it and just remember what a happy dog he was.  One of our favorite things to do was to go sit out in the front yard.  The dogs loved to be out there, and all the neighbor kids got so excited when they saw us.  And you better believe that Snoop LOVED them!  It makes me really sad to go out there now, when all the kids are out.  I just think about how much he would love to be there.  I just have to remind myself that I'm sure there are PLENTY of kids for him to play with now :)

Quick funny story:  I was outside yesterday and one of the neighbor boys, who is 5, came out and asked where Snoop was, realizing he hadn't seen him for awhile.  I proceeded to tell him that Snoop had passed away, but that it was ok because he was in Heaven.  The little boy then said, "Yeah, and we will see him again... someday."  And I said, "Yep, we sure will."  And then he said... "Or maybe in 6 weeks." :)  I couldn't help but smile.

We always called Snoop our grizzly bear.  He was just so huge :)

Sometimes he did the splits :)

Sometimes Sammy used him for a pillow :)

A lot of the time he laid on the ground like this :)  Totally sprawled out.  Such a good, cute boy.

Sometimes we made him have a bath.  And all the time, he hated it :)  But he was a really good boy, and never moved a muscle while we were washing him.  He was just too humiliated I guess :)

Once he got stuck in the chair.  "I was just trying to come find you guys!"

"Did you say my name?!"

Like I said above, we loved being out in the front yard.  This is us playing fetch.  Snooped loved it :)

All the neighborhood kids helping us give Snoop a bath.  You can't see it in this picture, but all the parents were standing out in the street too.  We were the neighborhood spectacle :)

Snoop and Sammy got to go on the annual Crane backpacking trip this year (2008 - The year I met them).  Oh man, did they love it!

This picture is from Brig's birthday, 2011.  Snoop just wanted to play :)

This is Snoop's cousin Sophie.  He LOVED her!  One time she was running so that he would chase her and he totally nailed her!  She just laughed and laughed.  They were good buds :)

 

 A few of Snoops favorite things:  Hiking.  Swimming.  Playing fetch.  Dinner time.  Sleeping.  Walks.  Being right by Brig.  Cardboard tubes and Mountain Dew bottles.  Truck/Jeep rides.  Peeing on things.  Playing with Brig and Tara.  Belly rubs.  Wrestling (especially in the snow).  Gloves and socks, or really anything that looked like a squirrel.  People... Any people at all!  Snuggling with Sammy.  Laying out in the shade on a warm day.  Drinking water.  Wind in his face.  Treats.  Giving kisses. And most of all, his family!

One of my favorite things to do with Snoop was to go out and play in the snow.  I would push him over and he would come right back at me, trying to get my gloves with his mouth and swatting at me with his paws.  When he would be on his back he would kick at you with his back legs - I loved that :)  We had so much fun together.  I will really miss that.

Our little family :)

Brig and I obviously don't have kids yet.  Snoop and Sammy are our kids.  We love them so much.  And that's what makes it so hard I think.  We would come home from work and they would be so excited to see us.  There really is nothing better than the love of a dog; And Snoop was THE BEST example of that.  No matter how mad I got at him sometimes, he still loved me just the same.  He was always stealing a taste of you whenever you walked by - showing his affection.  I would always swat him on the nose because I didn't like to be licked, but he never did stop doing it.  He loved us too much.  I miss that now... a lot.

 

This is another of my favorite pictures of Snoop.  Such a handsome, happy boy :)

Another favorite.  He loved his dad!

Brig especially has a really special relationship with Snoop an Sammy.  He's had them since they were puppies, and they were such a strength to him while he was away serving our country.  They were always there for him.

This picture breaks my heart to look at.  It is everything that Snoop is.  Loyal, Loving, Happy, Good, the list goes on.  He was SO good to walk.  He always walked right by you, never pulling, and when he was off the leash he always stayed really close by.  If he ever got ahead of us, he would always look back to make sure we were coming.  SUCH a good dog.

He definitely had his moments of rebellion :)  He was a puppy at heart his whole life.  He wanted nothing more than to please us, but he also wanted nothing more than to be by us no matter what the cost ;)

Snoop as a "puppy" in Craig, CO while Brig was in the Army.  Brig loved coming home on leave and being able to spend time with the dogs.  He missed them while he was gone a lot.  They always remembered him, and were absolutely ecstatic to see him!

 

I think that this is my very favorite picture of Snoop.  It just shows how incredibly happy he was.  He had such an amazing spirit, and he made us so so happy.  We really do miss him so much.  Our home isn't the same without him.  I think a lot about how some people don't believe that our pets go to heaven.  I say, how could heaven be such a wonderful place without them?!  I will be so happy when I get to see Snoop again.  I know I keep saying this, but he really did bring so much joy into our lives.  He was the best dog that we could have ever asked for.

The day Snoop died really was one the hardest days of my life.  I was lucky enough to be able to see him right before it happened, but I wasn't there for him when it did.  I have had a really hard time with that.  I know after talking to the vet that there is nothing that I could have done.  He most likely died of a heart failure, and it was most likely really soon after I left to go down to Salt Lake.  But it still hurts.  I wish so much that I would have been there to comfort him.  I got the call from Brig while I was down at my sisters house and it took a minute to sink in.  I literally bawled the whole way home.  It is amazing that I even made it.  We were able to spend some time with him before we buried him.  We buried him in a really nice spot up at Brig's parent's house.  I am so glad that we can go up there and visit his grave frequently.  It definitely hurts.  But I know that he is happy. 
I wanted to be sure to include one last thing in this post...  I let Snoop and Sammy outside shortly after I got home and before I left to Salt Lake.  I could tell he was feeling really crappy and I had been a little bit upset that I had to clean up throw up and was going to be late.  I didn't want him to think that I was mad at him, so before I left, I went back outside and called to him.  He was over on the other side of the backyard looking pretty lethargic.  But, he still came.  Knowing what I know now, I know that almost every last ounce of strength that he had, he used to come over to me.  Because he loved me.  I pet him behind the ears like he likes, and I told him that he was a good boy and that I would see him soon.  I am grateful that I had that time with him, and was reminded one last time about how much he loved me.

People ask us a lot if we've considered getting another dog.  Honestly, right now I don't know that I will ever be able to.  Losing him was just too hard.  And I don't think there will ever be another that can match him (or Sammy).  There truly is no better dog than Snoop.  I will always be grateful for the time I had with him.  He is and always will be one of my very best friends.

We love you and miss you so much buddy... Good boy :)