Losing meadow

Last week, like the many weeks before it, was consumed by caring for my sweet beagle, Meadow. And also enjoying her company, giving her furry body lots of hugs, and being grateful for every additional day we had with her. I knew her time was limited and that her nasal cancer would eventually take over, but that still didn't prepare me for actually having to say goodbye.

My sweet, spunky Meadow - my "heart dog" - got her wings and crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on Friday, February 2.  To say I'm heartbroken is an understatement. There will never be another dog like Meadow. She and I had a special bond that I don't have with our other dogs (even though I love them like crazy, too). I'm am so lucky she chose me to be her person and I'll forever treasure our time together.

I have more I want to say about the experience and more to say about Meadow (and hopefully much more eloquently than in this blog post), but right now I'm still processing things, tumbling haphazardly and unpredictably through the stages of grief, and back again. 

While this week certainly didn't end the way I had hoped and we're a family member short, until Friday and her rapid decline, Meadow had a wonderful week of just being beagle-y. And I'm so glad we spent so much quality time together.

I didn't run with her this week, but we did take several walks together in her running stroller, which she loved. I wish I had bought it for her sooner. It had been in my Amazon cart as "save for later" for at least 2 years. But at least I did get to use it with her if only for a few weeks. And I suppose if that's my only regret about my time with her, I did pretty well.

Meadow also spent time with the rest of the pack, begging for food and relaxing. I'm so glad she at least had a really good week of feeling good and enjoying life before we lost her. Her pain was short-lived and was far outweighed by joy and love.

On the workout front, I did do things other than walk with Meadow.

Even though my work schedule was still a bit crazy last week, I was able to get in a few yoga classes and a strength workout at F45, as well as a few pain-free runs. The piriformis injury is gone, you guys! I can run again! Thank goodness for that because I need the stress relief that running brings back in my life.

Workout summary

2018 may have gotten off to a slow and stressful start for me with the chaos of the move, too many work projects, and Meadow's decline, but now I'm ready to move forward. I also cleared my brain space by letting go of a work project that was causing me more stress than it was worth. 

With the injury behind me (and also feeling fully recovered from the havoc of the antibiotics I took this past fall), I'm excited at the prospect of actually enjoying running again. And eventually set some new goals. And on each run, and everywhere I go, I'll carry sweet Meadow in my heart. Always.

How was your week? How have you coped with the loss of a beloved pet? 

As always, I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap series.