Good Bye Rita, We miss you

We had a bitter-sweet weekend, and because of that, I won't talk a lot about training or plans. But will dedicate this post to our dog, Rita, who suddenly passed away yesterday.

On Thursday morning I got a call at work from Roger, he had taken Rita to the Vet, because she was not eating and was very lethargic, and refusing to walk a single step. He told me that the Vet said that Rita was having liver failure, and that he was taking her in to his Pet Clinic to treat her liver. We were signed up to run the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in DC, which was a 2.5 hour drive we would be taking on Friday afternoon.

When we were booking hotels, we did so with Rita in our mind, finding a place that accepted pets, and had a place for her to peacefully walk and rest.

Friday morning Roger called the Vet again, and he said that they would be keeping Rita overnight again. Enzymes were down, but not enough for her to leave the doggy hospital yet. The plan then became that We would head out to Washington DC and return as soon as the Vet said that Rita was allowed to leave.

On the Race day, we followed our plans, and headed out. For a brief moment, Roger put himself in full race mood. He headed out there and ran his race, he told me after that at mile 9, he felt the full weight of Rita being sick and what could happen to her. And he almost broke down crying at mile 9, but pushed himself to finish for Rita, because when she got well, they would be again taking long walks, and going to the doggy park to let her ignore the other dogs.

Rita examining the snow at the 2015 Blizzard

Roger beat his Hershey Half Marathon by 10 minutes. He was happy with how he did and dedicated his run to Rita.

We headed back home on Sunday, Roger called the Vet again to get another status on Rita. The Vet said that enzymes had gone down a bit more, but they were not still where they need it to be, and that they wanted to keep her until Monday morning and see how she was then.

Then at 2:10 pm, the call came. Rita had passed away. Her heart gave out. They tried to resuscitate her, but nothing else could be done.

We were devastated. I've known Rita since 2012, when I met Roger. She was a cute little rat terrier, black and white. She was sweet and gentle, she didn't play with toys, but she liked to follow my son around and let him play with her.

Rita dressed as a Fox, with her Human dressed like a warewolf

Roger and his then wife rescued Rita in 2003, and she has been with him ever since. He shared with me that she was always a calm dog, that she didn't like playing with toys, but enjoyed playing with Roger. Last winter, she liked laying on her back and being rolled around like if she was spin top. She loved it! She also loved her belly rubs and to try and sneak human food.

We miss Rita, the spot where her bed was at is now empty, and sad. We will miss her black staring eyes, her gentle steps on the kitchen, her rolling on the floor, begging for a belly rub. Good bye Rita, We miss you!

Rita getting belly rubs in the warm weather