(2/2 continued from previous post)
Emma was an incredible athlete who loved nature. Like a true Husky, she had such a deep, innate love for running. She accompanied us on marathon training runs (up to 10 miles!), but we were way too slow for her. Off-leash, she’d take off in a dead sprint with a look on her face of sheer joy. She broke her unofficial speed record at the golf course in Garland chasing a rabbit - she had another gear beyond most dogs. Her favorite place in the world was Turkey Creek Trail at Emma Long Park. On trails she would triple our mileage by bounding up and down the wild terrain, running circles around us, sometimes disappearing for alarmingly large stretches of time. At her first birthday party, she was so intent on catching some ducks that she swam all the way from Auditorium Shores to the north side of town lake. Some of our happiest memories with her are kayaking in the winter on the Frio river, where she’d just sleep in the sun with the breeze blowing through her fur.
From a young age Emma had health struggles with luxating patella, arthritis, and cataracts. In middle age she survived a dog attack, a surgery removing a large tumor, followed by an almost fatal infection. At age 10 she tore her ACL, had surgery, and made a full recovery to sprint like a puppy again. Two years ago the doctors suspected she had brain cancer and only a few months to live. Those are just a few of her close calls, not to mention the countless times she ate something she shouldn’t have, and the several escapes she made as a puppy. We are so unbelievably lucky she made it to old age, which is also a testament to her resilience. It was so hard but we are so grateful that we had the chance to say goodbye under these circumstances, after 15 long, beautiful years of life having overcome so much.
Emma taught us and gave us so much, and I only can hope we gave her a fraction of as much back. We love you forever, our queen Emma. 👑
On Friday we made the impossible decision to say goodbye to our sweet baby Emma. We just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary, and Emma had been here with us for more than 15 of those years, basically our entire adult lives, from age 22 to 37. Our history and memories are totally intertwined – there was no us without Emma.
Emma possessed a tremendous life force. Over the years we adapted to her many idiosyncrasies, like no out-and-back walks (only loops), no walking next to storm drains, eating must be outside (or she will drag her bowl through the doggy door), and she will only stick her head out of the window in the car on the left side. Once she set her mind on something, that was it, she would accomplish it. Whenever we had the question, “How did ____ get outside?” The answer was always Emma, and it was usually captured on our security camera. She took all kinds of things outside: the most typical was socks, and the most expensive was a thousand page Calculus textbook that she shredded. She was so committed to raiding our dirty clothes that she learned how to open the closet door and knock over the zipped-up hamper to shake the clothes out. Once we got a call in the middle of Katie’s brother’s high school graduation – Emma had escaped the Hainline house and crashed a neighbor’s 10 year old girl’s pool party. She jumped straight in the pool and the girls were feeding her hot dogs like she was a petting zoo attraction, and she was living her best life.
From an outside perspective, Emma gave off a regal vibe, aloof and independent. However, she was always fiercely loyal to us and kept her watchful eye on our pack. When Katie went back to school in 2012, Emma would stay up with her as she worked late into the night, always by her side. When Derek was gardening, Emma would follow him to the yard and try to help when he was digging. When an aggressive dog was coming for Theo at the dog park, Emma took a dog bite to the back of the neck to protect him. We always knew she was looking out for us, and she had our backs. (1/2)
On this day, 16 years ago I got to marry the love of my life! We continue to grow and have fun together every year and I’m so thankful I get to spend my life with you. Love you forever @katieensign
