Sad day

Today my sisters family's pet, Earnhardt, beagle mix of 11 years, passed away.

He wasn't just their dog, he was everyone's dog. The neighbourhood dog. He knew & loved anyone who would give him the time of day.

My niece Nicole is especially taking it hard, since they were inseparable. He slept in her bed at night. Followed her everywhere. He was older than her, & she took care of him. She's a loving little girl with few ideas about how to show it, it seems. She was affectionate & caring with him. It might hit her the hardest, but my oldest niece who just had her prom has had earnie for probably what feels like forever. I didn't get a chance to see her today, but I saw my younger niece, we talked about pets passing away & good memories with him.

I wasn't upset until I saw how upset my mother was about it. She cares deeply for animals. & understands how important they are. She was hurting for Nicole, as well as missing earnie herself. After Dan & I stopped by I guess her mood improved a bit. It's hard to feel ok distracting yourself when you feel like you ought to be missing someone in that moment. But she needed to know that everyone goes through it. & everyone cries. But it's ok to smile & to do things like normal

Hopefully they get a new little puppy, or something to that effect, because I think it's good for her & pets just make people happy. Pet-less households seem cold. :P I hate them.

Snapped a quick pic of the sunset. I feel like I might be catching a cold. Which doesn't make any sense in this weather. But it sucks.

Also. My belly is huge. :P