In Loving Memory of Indiana
Having posted a similar update earlier this year, saying goodbye to our sweet girl Daviana, we are once again shattered to share the news that we have had to say goodbye to another beloved member of our pack.
On April 25th, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to let our boy Indiana take his final journey over the rainbow bridge.
Our pack court jester, Indiana, came into our lives in March 2013. We had recently said goodbye to John’s dog from before we started dating, Chloe (a goofy golden lab) and decided we were ready to bring another pup into our hearts and home.
It was clear that Daviana was a mommy’s girl, and John missed that connection.
We hopped online and started doing searches on adoption websites like Petfinder in Ontario and branching out into Michigan. Then, a handsome mix-breed boy named Junior from Ohio somehow found his way into the search results.
To this day, we still don’t know how he was shown, given our search parameters, but we took it as a sign and contacted the rescue for more information.
After a good conversation with his foster mom, we made plans and drove to Ohio to meet him. To say it was “love at first sight” between him and John would be an understatement. He returned with us to Canada, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Indiana was a goofball of a dog. We always laughed at the fact that he wasn’t the brightest dog, but he was adorable, and that made up for it.
For example, it wasn’t uncommon for him to get distracted by a squirrel and run into a tree. That was just Indy.
He and Dav bonded fast and hard, becoming the best of friends. Together, as a pack, we travelled all over Ontario and even made stateside trips, including visiting Ohio to see his foster mom again.
But most importantly, he became a Daddy’s boy.
While he loved me, I was merely chopped liver the second John returned home from work. He was John’s best friend, his couch potato buddy on movie days, his steadfast hiking companion, and his light on even the darkest days.
Unfortunately, after Daviana passed, Indy never really got over the loss. He was depressed and disinterested in many of the things that once brought him joy.
Then, just as he was starting to come back out of his shell a little, he suffered a freak injury to his leg, causing swelling that pinched a nerve in his back, rendering him temporarily paralyzed. We worked through the injury with our vet, and he was making slow but good strides in his recovery.
When we woke up on the morning of April 25, his demeanour had completely changed. He was distant and checked out, and we could tell that he was done fighting.
We took him to the vet, where we decided together that the most humane thing was to let him go.
One of the greatest comforts we held onto during this was the idea of him and Dav reuniting and playing together, happy and healthy, over the rainbow bridge. I continue to picture this image daily to ease my broken heart.
Thank you to everyone who offered support, compassion, and encouragement during Indy’s recovery, as well as love and comfort following our loss.
Run free, Ninny boy…
