10 Months 1 Week 6 Days - Goodbye Brinkley!

We lost our beloved baby, Brinkley, today. He was next door at John and Wanda's house (his 2nd home) when he jumped the fence to chase another dog and got hit by a truck. He was dragged underneath the front wheel, but got up and ran into my neighbor's yard. The driver must've seen Brinkley run off, so drove on and didn't bother to tell anyone that they'd hit the dog. There really wasn't much injury on the outside, so it had to have been internal injuries that killed him. I'm thinking a collapsed lung since he went so quickly. I guess the good in this is that he didn't suffer long. I just wish that I could've been there to tell him goodbye. I was inside my house, so didn't see it happen. Wanda knocked at my door and I just thought that she was bringing Brinkley home since that's what she does when she has to leave her house. I remember her telling me, me screaming, "NO!" and running over to where he was laying. In spite of being so upset, I was angry at him for running into the street. I tried and tried to teach him to stay out of the road, but when he's chasing after something, he doesn't care. I just wish he could've learned without actually being hit.

Since we don't own our house and because he was as much John and Wanda's dog, we buried him next door. I guess we could've had him cremated, but that would've cost money. Plus, I don't think I could've handled seeing his ashes everyday like that. I can't see how in the world people have their pets STUFFED! I just couldn't handle that!

Shad got Brinkley for my birthday right after we were married. Brinkley was 10 weeks old then and would've been 6 years old this December. I was looking forward to Christopher growing up with Brinkley. Several people have already told us that an easy way to get over Brinkley is to get another dog. I just don't think I could do that right now. I really want another Jack Russell someday (one that DOESN'T jump the fence!), but until Christopher's older, that's probably not the best breed. We'll see later on down the road. I just can't imagine everyday life without our baby Brinkley!