Our Hearts are Broken...

Yesterday, we said good-bye to our sweet Dante.

For 17 years, he filled our lives with unbelievable amounts of love.

When we moved to Nashville, we could tell Sebastian was getting lonely, so we started to look for a little brother.

We visited a house filled with puppies, but this one feisty little guy walked right up to Gerald and started nibbling his fingers.

Love at first sight

Dante considered it his job to love everyone, unconditionally.

He never met a dog or human that he didn’t greet with kisses and dances.

He knew when you were sad or suffering in any way.

He was just so, so, so good.

Two years ago, we lost Sebastian. We could sense Dante’s loneliness.

That’s when our sweet Max came to live with us.

At first Dante didn’t know what to make of this little whirlwind.

But before long, Dante and Max became their own loving duo.

Dante taught Max the joy of wandering the garden and cuddling together in their blankets.

Max reintroduced Dante to dancing, silliness, and play.

This summer, Dante celebrated his 17th birthday.

Everyone remarked on his good health, bright eyes, and happy spirit.

But three weeks ago, things started to change.

At first, they were issues we could address with care.

Last Tuesday, he took a turn for the worse, and we knew the end was near.

For six days, we smothered him in love.

Yesterday, we said good-bye.

This has come upon us so quickly. We’ve had no time to process, no time to grieve. 

We know it was the loving decision, but still, we are deeply, deeply sad.

But here are the two things I’ve been clinging to in the last few days:

Dante literally made the world a better place just by loving.

I pray that we can all hold on to that and follow his precious example.

Love EVERYONE!

Whether you think they deserve it or not.

Love is never wasted. It only makes things better.

And, there are more stories of Dante’s sweetness than we can ever remember.

But last year, I had the chance to write one of those stories for the Guideposts devotional “All God’s Creatures”. Next year, on March 3, thousands of people will be reminded of how much God loves them, all because of Dante.

And that’s the legacy he would have wanted:

Play often. 

Nap with intensity. 

Spend time in the garden.

Love everyone

Love everyone

Love everyone

PS - Please keep us in prayer! We’ve pushed our departure date until Thursday to give us an extra day, but we’d tired, overwhelmed, and heartbroken. Please pray for our grief and for our tour preparations. And please lift a little prayer for Max who’s lost his brother and will now have 5 weeks without us.