5 months after my mission. I'm home for the summer. My best-dog-ever-in-the-history-of-the-world that we'd had since I was in 2nd grade had gotten arthritis so bad she could barely stand up. She was old. We took her to the vet and the vet asked if I wanted to be with her when they put her down. I knew I couldn't handle it and said no. But when we were walking out the door she was lying on the table looking at me like she knew we were saying goodbye. Man, that was tough. I was bawling. And, yes, I was 21 years old.

So, call me what you want and deduct whatever man-points you feel I deserve, but that was one freaking awesome dog. She was a mix of Husky, Black Lab, German Sheppard and Collie.