Friday evening I got the phone call that I had been dreading. Stitch was unable to walk or even stand up and his eyes were twitching. The vet said that at his age she didn't want to put him through lots of test and that with the signs he was showing he wasn't going to get better. She thought it was probably a brain tumor or a stroke. So my mom called and together we made the hard decision to let him go.
Stitch was my first born and best friend. I was there when he was born and he was with me through all of the ups and downs of my life. I bought my first house for him, he was my therapist when my first marriage ended, he was my nurse and physical therapist after surgery, he was my popcorn eating study buddy when I was in nursing school, he was my side kick when I moved to Virginia and had no friends, he was there when Jai proposed to me and he was there when I brought home my first baby.
A little over a year ago he went to live with my parents. As the mom of a toddler and another baby on the way I didn't feel like he was getting the attention that he deserved and needed and I knew that my parents could give him all the love he needed plus some. They have his brother and they had the time to go on walks and take camping trips. I know this was the best thing for Stitch, but it still breaks my heart that I didn't have him here and that I wasn't there in those final moments. I wanted to see him one more time and let him know how much I loved him. My parents and their dog spent an hour sitting with him and loving him and my mom told him that I loved him and so his final moments were peaceful and filled with love.
I promised Stitch that someday I would take him to the beach. I always thought we would go to the Oregon Coast, but we never made it so when we moved to Virginia we took him to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This is a picture of him enjoying the sand and sun on Okracoke Island. It was one of the best trips Jai and I ever took with him.
This is my favorite picture of him. This was taken at Skinny Dipper hot springs in Idaho. That was a great day. Nothing better than a hike up to the hot springs in the snow. 
Isha loves Stitch. She asks me about him all the time. I don't know how to explain this to her now so I haven't said anything. I guess when the time comes I will just tell her the truth, that Stitch is in Heaven. 
