Blog Post - The Story

Back in 2016 my mother and I decided to drive across the country and meet up with the rest of the family in Florida. Being from Spokane Washington it would mean driving an estimated 5,000 miles round trip with my German shepherd named Karma and my Great Pyrenees mix named Albert Einstein. Most people said, “you’re nuts” or “you will end up killing each other by the time it’s over.” To our surprise we had an incredible adventure. A lot of what we experienced was activities that needed to include two big dogs, with a few ‘human-like’ things. Six years later and five trips taken, on my birthday in April of 2022, Karma lost her battle with time and passed away at the age of 14 1/2. We left for the sixth trip three days later. With the loss of Karma on my mind we took our time, driving the long way and headed straight down the middle of California to Yosemite and then on to Texas then Florida. It was the longest of the six trips we had taken. Mom knew I needed the time to reflect and relax before heading back to life. So, the return trip consisted of driving up the east coast feeling blessed for what I still had with me and mourning the loss of my best friend, Karma. As we hit Virginia, we decided to take a left and make it back to Spokane for my youngest nephew’s birthday. For the next three months my bond with my other dog, Albert Einstein, grew deeper. When suddenly one morning I woke to find him having a full blown seizure. After rushing him to the pet emergency, it was later determined that the seizure was caused by brain cancer. With my mom and sisters by my side I had to make the ultimate, heart-breaking decision and have Albert Einstein put to sleep so he would be out of pain. I went dogless for a month only to come across a Craigslist ad for a Siberian Shepherd with no pictures. Spontaneously, I emailed him and asked if he had any girls available, to which, a short time later he responded. After seeing one picture of three girls I was quickly in ahh of one in particular. She had the most mesmerizing heaven and earth eyes, one blue and one brown. I decided to go for it. When deciding what to name her, I figured it should be one of the two things that got me through losing my two best friends. Her name was going to be Faith, either that or antidepressant. So, with my twin sister and mom in tow, we drove to Seattle and I adopted one of the most beautiful and energetic puppies I’ve ever laid my eyes on. While training the new puppy, I asked my mom, “So, do you want to do a seventh trip across country with this energizer bunny?” Her reply, “We will see, she should start to settle down at nine months old.” That being said and with fingers crossed, we started to plan the seventh adventure that would include the last eight states we hadn’t seen yet. This time with Faith as a new road trip companion. Then, with roughly two months to go, mom had a terrible accident on the stairs and bumped her head. Ending in an emergency surgery for a brain bleed caused by the blood thinners she had been taking for 35 years. We held vigil by her beside praying for a miracle. Unfortunately, on Valentines Day 2023 mom passed away. Left with the utter grief and shock of losing my three adventure buddies within a year, my brother-in-law made a unique suggestion. Why don’t the remaining family members go on that seventh trip and see the last eight states, all while leaving a little of mom’s ashes in each. Then we would proceed to Florida for her last wish, to be buried at sea.
This is a story full of sadness and loss, blossoming into grateful hearts coming together for mom to honor and memorialize. her. Family, learning how short life can truly be. Please consider following along for what is to come.