Two weeks ago tomorrow we had to say goodbye to our beloved german shepherd, Gala. It was something we knew was coming, she was 12 years old and had started to deteriorate the weeks prior. But still, nothing could prepare me for the terrible feeling of loss that came with saying goodbye to her. I have been very blessed in my 32 years to never have had to go through the death of someone close to me. I was in no way prepared for what this would feel like and I think I don't quite realized what she had meant to me.
I got Gala when she was just over a year old from a "horse ranch" in Texas. She was a scared, shy, skin and bones little lady that was kept outside all the time away from the people she so desperately wanted to be with. They would get mad at her because, being a shepherd, she would try to herd the horses in from the fields when they went too far out. She slunk around with her tail between her legs, always moving along the perimeter, never getting too close. But there was something about this timid creature that I connected with and I had to bring her home. A couple of days later, I wrote her "family" a check for $50 and brought her home. For the first couple of days she wouldnt eat anything, and only hung out close to the door or under the table. When she would venture into her kennel, 2 year old Natalie would crawl in with her and close the door behind them. Gala would let her snuggle in next to her, pet her, play with her- whatever Natalie wanted.
Slowly this beautiful girl began to trust me and the girls. She ate everything and loved everyone. For the first 6 months, maybe even more, I never heard her bark. Then one night I was lying in my bed, with the girls already tucked in for the night, when Gala was suddenly standing directly over me, teeth barred, hair raised, and growling. For a second I ws terrified, but I quickly realized she wasnt growling at ME, but at something else. I wiggled around and could see the outline of someone looking into my bedroom window. I reached for my phone, wrapped a blanket around me, and rolled out of bed dialing 911 as I went. Gala followed me out of the room and when I opened the back door she tore out barking like a vicious killer. A couple of minutes later I got a phone call from the police asking me to please call my dog back into the house because they couldnt get near it. When they checked the property they found someone had cut the deadbolt on my fence and gone around to my bedroom window. I will never know what might have happened that night, but I do know that that night Gala took very good care of her family.
Not long after that, when it was just me and my daughters and my dog, Leah learned how to unlock the deadbolt on the door. Apparently while I was in the bathroom, she decided she was hungry and wanted french fries, so she let herself out. Gala dutifully went with her. The lady that brought my daughter and my dog back explained that they would have had her back quicker, but Gala would not let anyone get near my Leah. Again Gala had protected her family excellently.
Then there were the countless drives to Maine from Texas, just Natalie, Leah, myself and Gala. As long as we had our big black german shepherd with us, nobody ever thought twice about giving us trouble. I cant tell you how many times we came out of a rest area bathroom to find people looking at our car as Gala sat in the drivers seat, one paw on the wheel, as though she was waiting to drive us to our next stop.
When I was 25 my world was turned upside down. I was in a marriage that was definitely not right, but that I desperately tried to hold together. Looking back, I can say everything about that marriage was wrong, but at the time I would have walked to the ends of the world and back to make it work. But it didnt and at age 25 I found myself a divorced single mother of 2 young girls without a lot of direction. I was scared and alone and the world outside my circle of my best friend, Suzzie, and my amazing daughters was a very dark and scary place. There were many, many nights when I really thought I wasnt going to make it. I was alone, lonely, lost...and the whole world felt like it was caving in on me. And in the middle of those darkest nights, my big, black shepherd would hop onto my bed and lay there with me while I cried myself to sleep. And she would stay right there until I woke up the next morning.
It was Gala met Justin and gave the sign of approval. It was Gala that rode in the passenger seat of my car as we packed up and made the cross country drive to our new home in Maine. It was Gala that helped Leah, McKenzie and eventually Alyvia learn how to walk. It was Gala, that up until the very end, would still sleep on the floor on my side of the bed and be there every morning just in case I needed her. She touched all of us in ways that I never, ever thought a dog could.
Because of all these things and so much more that when Justin and I saw Gala start to wither, the glow disappear from her eyes, the spring leave her step, we knew there was only one last thing we could do for her. So, 2 weeks ago, we sat with that beautiful dog in the grass behind the veterinarians office, and we held her and patted her told told her we loved her as she fell asleep and passed away. It was a beautiful and peaceful moment and I couldnt have scripted it better. It was just what I had always hoped I would be able to give her when the time came.
Now our family is left with a very big empty spot. We cry and feel sad and we notice the empty spot quite often. It does get better each day, but I dont know that any of us will ever be over the loss of such an amazing creature. And I do know we were all truly blessed to have such a wonderful animal in our family.
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