January is Bittersweet for Me

Last year on January 19, our St. Bernard, or Saintie as bernard lovers call them, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Her name was Savannah Kate, and she was just 3. The children just adored her. She was the biggest hunk of love you could ever find in a dog. Truly a gentle giant as the breed is called. The anniversary of her death is hard for me because I have been thinking about her so much! We have always had dogs, but Savannah was my baby. The kids called her Nana from "Peter Pan". Sometimes they even called her Nana Head because she always thought she was this little puppy and would lay her big head on your lap like she was tiny. Another trait of her breed is that they behave like they are small because they grow at such a rapid rate. When she passed away, she was full-grown at 140 lbs. When Savannah would play and run around, look out! She thought she was a teacup chihuahua.

Savannah had become lethargic and acted funny all weekend, but I kind of passed it off because she loves to sleep and snore all day anyway. :) When the week had started, it was a dramatic decline to refusing to eat and drink. We took her in and they began running tests on her. They were onto a disorder in her blood that may be able to be treated with radiation, but she went into cardiac arrest in her overnight stay and they called me at like 2 a.m. to tell me. IT WAS SO DEVASTATING! I think what broke my heart the most is that I had gone home around midnight and left her on ivs and such. Also, having to tell the kids was so sad :(

Savannah will forever be missed! She loved to play in the snow and hated the heat because of her size and fur LOL We always kept her shaved down. Whenever it snows, we still say it's Savannah in heaven saying hello :) WE LOVE YOU SAVANNAH. RUN FREE, GIRL! :)

I posted my favorite picture of her as a puppy on our deck and the other favorite of her dressed in Julia's tutu around her neck. Julia always dressed up Savannah in bonnets, jewelry, hats, and she followed Julia around like she was a queen which was a funny picture because she was 10 times bigger than Jules. Savannah's favorite pasttime was laying in front of the television while Paige, Chase and Julia used her body as a pillow for their heads while watching a movie.

Much love to you, Savannah Kate.