Rex came into our lives one day in May of 1993. At the time, our two sons had a paper route and my oldest came home one day, saying there was this cute little black and white dog on a near by street. He was a stray, but the people on this street took turns feeding him. "Can we have him, Mom?" I said no, but Tim persisted. On Friday, Tim came walking through our yard with this little dog following close behind. "Look, Mom, he followed me home. Can he stay?" I took one look at him and thought, he's so dirty but he's cute. I knew my husband didn't want the responsibility of a dog, but me being an animal lover, couldn't resist those big, brown eyes. I brought him in the house and put him in the tub. He was covered with ticks. He was wearing a collar, but had no tags. Someone had obviously pushed him out. Once cleaned up and ticks removed, he looked fine. Daddy would be home from work soon, and we all wondered what he would say. When he came home, this little guy ran up to him, tail wagging and lot of kisses. Daddy was surprised to say the least, and from the start, his heart just melted. The boys were so happy and immediately started to think of names for this dog. Daddy said that if he ever had a dog, he'd name it Rex, so Rex it was. It was like he was meant to be with us. He fit right in. His favorite thing to do was lay on the couch with Daddy at night. He loved to chase squirrels and could he run! The vet believed he was part Jack Russell and Beagle. Considering that he had been living on the street for a while, he was in pretty good shape. He did get pretty sick a few days after we adopted him. But our vet made him well again, and he thrived. He loved to go for a ride in the car and every chance he could, he did. He would go with me when I ran errands, do my work at the church office, he just wanted to be with Mommy. As the years went by, Rexy thrived and loved being with his family. He loved to go fishing with Daddy. He followed the boys wherever they went. The past couple years, he began to slow down. We noticed that he was beginning to have trouble going for long walks, but never wanted to give up. Soon, he was having trouble coming up the stairs. Again, he wouldn't give up. Last week, he started coughing. We took him to the vet, hoping they would tell us he had a cold. We were not prepared to recieve the news we did. He had a large mass on his lung. It didn't look good. Our baby was so sick. The family got together and made the hardest decision ever. With a broken heart, Daddy and Mommy stayed with him till the end. I have never felt so much pain in my life. My little man was gone and there's a huge hole in my heart. Rex lived to be almost 15 years old. He will be missed greatly. He slept with us at night and I miss him snuggled up to me. He loved to be close to you. I know he's in a better place, but how I wish he could be here. It's only been a two days since he left us. It hurts so much. I know in time our hurt will heal and maybe we'll get another dog. But Rex was special to us. I hope he knows how much we loved him too. Goodbye, little man. Mommy love! Kiss Kiss