Max died this morning.

She was our golden retriever. Shelly and I bought her as a puppy about two months into our marriage. She turned 14 years old in March.

Max was our first baby. She was a constant fixture throughout our marriage. She was always affectionate and happy and eager to please and never got tired of being petted and was always ready to cheer you up when you were feeling rotten.

She'd been in declining health over the past couple of years, and over the past few months didn't do much other than sleep and keep a vigil at the kitchen watching for dropped food (which you have plenty of when you've got a 3 year-old).

I'm gonna miss her a lot.