Sydney 2003-2012

Our family made the tough decision to put our chocolate lab, Sydney down tonight.  Neither Matt or I have ever had to put a pet to sleep, but we knew, as difficult as it was, that this was the best thing for Sydney.

Matt got Syd right before he and I started dating, so she has been a part of "us" from the very beginning.  She was a digger early on and there are some funny stories about her digging under her fence in Peoria and running the neighborhood.  Everyone in that subdivision "knew Syd"!

As she grew older, she loved to swim in the river and if you would throw a ball--she would fetch it--FOR HOURS!  I can remember when she was at her heaviest weight, she would play awhile then she wouldn't give you back the ball and she would go for a swim to take a break and catch her breathe. When she was rested she would bring it right back to you and it was like she was saying "OK--let's go again".

When Alex started t-ball this past summer, Syd made the best infield!  We never had to go field his hits! Brecke also liked to "order" Syd to sit and then throw the ball for her...you can see a bit of that here:

She survived a couple of battles with Blasto, a soil borne illness and ultimately cancer of the spleen made life very painful. We miss her greeting us when we pull the drive.  She was a great dog and we smile when we think of all of the angels in heaven playing catch with her whenever she wants to!