A Sad Goodbye.

It's been hard to sit down and write this, but this past Sunday, we had to lay our precious Vito to rest.

You may have remembered seeing Vito here on my blog many times, posting contest winners or just being camera friendly. He was my side kick 24/7 for the past 14 years-- totally a trooper as I dragged him through every flea market and antique shop. He evened traveled with us. You may even remember him on magazine covers, newspaper stories or on HGTV doing his famous "wave." He was kinda famous.

Vito was our first puppy. He was the love of my life. Being childless, he was my baby, my comfort, as you know by what your precious pets mean to you.

I'm not saying this because he was my dog, but Vito was a special boy. We used to take him to the old aged home, where he'd lay peacefully and comfort the elderly. He never snapped once in 14 years, and was child and animal friendly. Everyone loved Vito. I remember one of his vets saying that he wanted to adopt him.

His final days were good. He had been treated for lymphoma, and it went into remission for over a year. Even in his last days, there were no signs of him ready to go. He was eating, playful, and following me up and down the stairs. Last Sunday was different though, I came home from the flea market and he was shaking. My husband and I took him to the vet and with one hour, we had to put him down.

Needless to say, I'm still kind of in shock, as we are grieving terribly. Thank heavens for our little puppy Sonny, who will never replace Vito, but I'm sure glad we have him. Even Sonny has the blues.

So as I tearfully, choke through this post, I will try and hang on to the memories of this dear soul who touched so many lives. Rest in peace, my little Don "Vito" Corleone. The world is a bit smaller without you.