I got back home to Hawaii earlier today, but my dad gave me some sad news when he came to pick me up from the airport: my dog had passed away. As some of you probably know, my dog had some tumors removed from her body last year and was actually doing pretty well, save for some arthritis. Well, apparently, my dog started going downhill again after I left, and finally, the day after Thanksgiving, my parents noticed my dog was not looking good at all. She wasn't really responding and just in completely bad shape. My parents felt it was best to put my dog to sleep after 13 years of life.
I am actually very grateful that my parents refused to tell me about this until today. At the time of my dog's passing, I still had all four final exams ahead. The last thing that I would have wanted to know during law school finals was a death in the family, since that would have completely thrown me off my game.
Another possible reason they waited until I flew back to Hawaii to tell me was to console me if I took the loss hard, which I really didn't. I knew she was in bad shape already, even before leaving, and even though I wanted to see my dog when I came back, I knew the chances were not good. Although it is definitely much quieter around this house now, my dog is in a much better place. We had my dog cremated and her ashes are in an urn at the house.