All Dogs Go To Heaven: RIP Layla. 2008-2024

Layla showed up in 2008/2009 following Mrs. M home from one of her long walks. Mrs. M greeted me that day as I entered our home from the carport.


Mrs. M-“Sweetie, if you go into the backyard be sure to close the gate.”

Me-???-Sweetie? Looks at wife. Says nothing. Walks back out the carport door I just came in after a 14 hour day to see why keeping our backyard gate properly closed had suddenly become paramount.



Upon returning from backyard…

Me-“Why is there a hyperactive psychotic black dog in the backyard?
No!
No dogs!
And especially not that lunatic thing.
All it did the whole time I was out there was jump, jump, jump around me in circles and wag its whole behind.
Its tongue is about six feet long, its mouth is frozen in a crazy grin like it’s laughing and its eyes are crazy.
It’s a Frankenstein dog made out of parts of other dogs none of which fit with the other parts!
Why is it in our backyard?”



Mrs. M.-I was walking and she…”

Me-“SHE!

Mrs. M.-“…Yes-she was nearly hit several times on the highway, she made it across and ran to me breathing very hard and frightened and sat next to me. I walked home and said to her, ‘If you’re coming, come on’. She followed me-actually walked right next to me.

I put her in the backyard.”



Me-“CRAP!”



Thus began nearly sixteen years of unrelenting hilarity, relentless shenanigans, and boundless unconditional love and loyalty.

How can you ever thank a dog for all that?

She began having intermittent coughing early November that worsened warranting seeing her vet and was given antibiotics to clear up a possible respiratory infection.

She went off her food soon after and couldn’t walk too far before becoming unusually fatigued.

A follow up X-ray showed her lungs riddled with tumors, probably malignant. The vet believed continuing the antibiotics and starting prednisone would help her short term with some relief and give us a couple of weeks of quality time. That was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving week. By Friday she had worsened noticeably but I had an upper respiratory infection and was too sick to take her to the vet to do the inevitable. I was up with her all night that Sunday into Monday when she was finally taken to her vet, put to sleep and given peace.