If it wasn’t for Live, we wouldn’t have met Chewie, since we met her during a previous adoption segment on the show in 2020.
Since then, and for almost 18 years, she gave us so much. We're filled with gratitude for this dog ... As each one of our kids left for college and moved out on our own, Chewie remained right there. Our steadfast companion.
Chewie had stopped eating for a couple of days and had been eating less and less for the past few weeks. She was extremely dehydrated and had some neurological stuff going down. And you think, 'Okay, I'm doing the right thing, this is going to be not easy but... It's probably one of the toughest things we've had to do as a married couple.
We felt did the right thing...it was just going to be really, really, really bad over the next few days for her so we had a vet come to administer in-home humane euthanasia.
She never let us kiss her face, she was very precious about her face. She was not that dog and after she passed away last night, I kissed her 1,000 times on her face. I kissed her nose; I'd never kissed her nose before.
Right before Chewie took her final breath, she got a little burst of energy. And we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, everything’s going to be okay.’ There was a moment where we really thought, ‘Okay, whatever she was going through for the past few weeks, it’s over now." We later read an article on the show that explained this is a normal part of the dying process for both pets and humans.
She never let us kiss her face, she was very precious about her face. She was not that dog and after she passed away last night, I kissed her 1,000 times on her face. I kissed her nose; I'd never kissed her nose before.
We have shared these 2 videos from Instagram, one on her birthday in 2023 and our final tribute to our precious Chewie.
Below we have shared about our adventures with Chewie and her sister Lena emphasizing how much they became huge parts of our lives. Especially for Mark who wasn't a dog person at first...
It’s been extremely painful to lose our beloved Chewie. We ache for her every single day. We still look for her and call to her and frankly feel lost.
We are so grateful for the almost 18 years we had with this special lady. She grew up with our kids and remained at our sides when each left the nest. She waited by the front door to welcome her siblings back home when they returned for visits. She was our stoic constant companion. We know she is running free now somewhere warm and sunny, unburdened by her failing body.
We were the luckiest family to have loved and been loved by Chewie. Thank you to The North Shore Animal League for blessing us with our fabulous girl. Finally, thank you to everyone for the beautiful messages from all of you who knew or felt like you knew Chewie. Our hearts may be broken, but are filled with the memories of joy Chewie gave us.
