We had to say goodbye to our sweet baby Pancake this week, and there are not enough words to describe how incredible of a friend she’ll forever be. It’s a miracle we even met at all — a street dog in Sacramento without enough room at the shelter who flew up to Portland where we met her as ‘Marla’, with scars on her face and a hole through one of her enormous ears. Her huge black bug eyes genuinely gave a little window into her soul and street-dog story, stopping people in their tracks to share a moment with her. She even made our pet store employees weep while grabbing a bone and plopping her butt down in one of the display beds. She loved the vet, she loved her groomers, she loved our neighbors and small businesses — she loved everybody.
In early December during a vet visit for nausea, an ultrasound revealed that her spleen was covered in tumors and that she had 4-6 weeks left. As tragic as that news was, we are so lucky to have had more than a month of time after that to appreciate every second with her, celebrate our last Christmas together, and begin to process the gutting emotions gradually instead of an immediate surprise. In the maddening game of guessing when it was ‘time’, she let us know the night before in a small moment of pain while sleeping that it was the right moment to begin the process.
What an honor for us to be able to say goodbye to her together at home in the comfort of her little bed, and be there to gently guide her to the next life in peace and without pain. Amidst weeks of rain and darkness, the day she passed was beautiful and sunny, and at the moment we said our final goodbye, her face was bathed in sunshine — her favorite thing in the world. The next day began with one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. We could really feel and see her in that sunrise and it felt like a reassurance we’d be together again in the next life.
Thank you to anyone who ever gave her love, pets, smooches, and kind words. I’ll be doing some more Pancake Posting™ in the coming months to help process this and share all of the things about Pancake that made her amazing.
PK is forever 🥞💕
