The next morning Luther and Ryan took her to our vet. They basically had to pick her up and put her in the truck. The vet kept her at his office and ran tests on her. He called Luther late in the afternoon and told him she was really really sick and that she might not make it through the night. Luther came home from work that evening and told us, it was a very sad moment for all of us and full of tears.
All three of us went to the vet's office first thing in the morning. We thought we were going to have to put her down. When we got there they put her in a room for us, so we could say our goodbyes. Ginger was laying on the floor and was not moving. Her eyes followed each one of us as we came in the room. We told her we loved her and petted her and then after about only five minutes she took her last breath. It was as if she held on through the night so we could tell her goodbye.
I have tears flowing down my face as I write this because till this day I think about her and I miss her. I will never forget how much she loved us and waited so we could say goodbye. We had her since Ryan was four years old. She was a valentine present from Luther and me when he was four.
We got her from the animal shelter in Bryan and I will never forget how we found her. She was probably about four months old or so and she was laying on her back looking up at me. I grabbed Luther and said this is the one. Her name at the shelter was Delilah. When we told them we wanted her, they said her adoption fee had already been paid by a local radio station because she was a pet of the week and they liked her that much. So see, she was meant to be ours that day.
Ryan was so happy and he renamed her Ginger, which was actually short for Ginger Bread Man. Seriously funny, but hey, he was only four. We also called her G.
Ginger was such a joy, she was buddies with our cats Gig'em and Howdy and when they passed she was best buds with our cat Bristol. She used to play with them and nap with them. She never hurt them and was never too rough with them. She loved them too.
Ginger was a smart girl. She knew how to shake and sit and lay down. We never could get her to speak. She was a quiet dog and did not bark much. She did bark and growl if someone acted like they were trying to force the front door open, so she made us feel safe.
Ginger HATED thunder storms. She would go crazy and pant, wine and pace. We could not kennel train her either because she would make her paws bleed trying to get out of the cage. We opted to let her roam the house and we placed a baby gate at the top of the stairs because if it stormed while we were gone she would freak out and get locked in Ryan's room and dig up the carpet.
Ryan and G were best buds. He would take her on walks, play ball with her and play tug of war with her. Her favorite toy was a big soft green frog. She had it for years and when it finally wore out, we could not find another one. We found a big soft green alligator and she loved that as much as her frog. We would still tell her to go get her frog and she would. I still have her alligator or "frog" I should say.
Even though today is sad to remember that she is no longer with us, it is happy to know we had all those years with her and the fun crazy moments. Best of all, it's happy to remember how much she truly loved us and loved being in our family. I know some people think "they are just animals," but they are more than that if you truly love them, they are one of your family members. Ginger will always be loved and always be remembered!
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