Last year our good friend Tricia, who works for Campus Crusade for Christ, went on a trip to China. She was going to be gone for several weeks and was worried because she needed someone to watch over her dog Jordan. Of course, Keao and I are suckers for dogs, especially one as cute as Jordan so we agreed to dog-sit Jordan for the few weeks. Now, if you know anything about me, dogs are not meant to be indoors so my only rule to dog-sitting was that Jordan could not come inside the house. Well I guess Tricia was getting a little desperate because surprisingly she agreed.

After those few weeks I must admit, I did grow a little attached to Jordan and I was sorry to see her go. I was even more saddened to hear that because she was outdoors the whole time she developed some sort of skin rash.

Fast forward to this year. After my brother moved out, Tricia moved in and became our roommate. This cheered my heart because once again I would be able to see cute Jordan (and Tricia too). Of course, my “no dogs in the house” rule still stood and Jordan quickly made herself at home on my patio.

Now Tricia had Jordan since she was 18 or 19 and Jordan has been all over the country with Tricia. They were tight. Jordan was a constant, loyal, loving companion. But like everything else, Jordan was getting older. She was slowing down. She no longer had the same spring in her step. By the time Tricia and Jordan moved in with us Jordan was already sick with an inoperable tumor and she was slowly bleeding internally. The vet said that it wouldn’t necessarily be painful for Jordan, but there wasn’t much they could do. The nights were cold and we offered to break our rule and let Jordan sleep indoors at night. Jordan was getting weaker by the day.

You know, Tricia and Jordan moved in just over two weeks ago and in that short while Jordan really took a liking to me. Every time I would go outside she would get up and follow me around. Sometimes I would go to the front yard and she would come to the front and lie down and just watch whatever I was doing. The last few days though were different. Jordan was so weak she wouldn’t stand up anymore. Her breathing became labored and even moving seemed like a chore. Instead she would just lie there and follow me around with her eyes.

This morning, when Tricia went outside to check on Jordan, she noticed that Jordan had thrown up again. After much consideration Tricia made one of the hardest decisions of her life. She decided that it was time to let Jordan go. She decided to put Jordan down.

There’s a reason that dogs are known as man’s best friend. Dogs are loyal. They love unconditionally. They are always there when you’re feeling down. They cheer you up. Jordan was no different.

After spending all morning outside with Jordan, Tricia and Keao drove together to the vet. I wasn’t there, but Keao told me that everything went about as good as they could. Tricia mentioned how God had his hand in it. You see, the vet didn’t have to put Jordan to sleep. Jordan quietly passed away in the vet’s office. Tricia got to spend an entire morning with Jordan and she got to be there when she passed away. Of course, I’m sure Tricia would rather have Jordan back, but if she had to go, this was probably the best anyone could have hoped for.