The Death of My Beloved Doggie Daughter, Honey

Me and my Honey girl on April 20th, 2014, celebrating her 17th birthday

"Pain demands to be felt.”

(quote from Fault in Our Stars by John Green)

I am heartbroken and overcome by immense grief. My precious doggie daughter, Honey, died Monday, July 14th, at 1:00 a.m. Her little heart began to fail her on Friday and she was terribly sick the entire weekend until she died peacefully in my arms while I kissed and loved on her.

Honey wasn’t just dog or a pet in our family; she truly was my doggie daughter. Her favorite things were being with me and eating her food. She loved me so much and her devotion to me was truly special. She was my little girl with many special needs at her 17 years of age, and her death has left a gigantic hole in my life. A part of me has been torn away and it hurts intensely.

The irony of losing someone you love is that in the storm of grief they are the only ones you want for comfort.

I so desperately long to hold and kiss her again and to feel her loving me back!

"The sorry truth is you can walk your feet to blisters, 

walk till kingdom-come, 

and you never will outpace your grief." 

(quote from The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd)

A TRIBUTE TO HONEY from 1997 to 2014

Our BROUSSARD'S BIT OF HONEY was born in Houston, TX on April 20th, 1997 to her dachshund parents, Mickey and Minnie. I can still see in my memory the day our family went to meet that litter of little dachshunds and how long we spent playing with each one trying to figure out which one had the right personality for us. I selected our girl because she was the one who wanted to snuggle and cuddle the most and she came to lay on my lap for a long while. Our finances were extremely tight and we had no money to pay for her. So we drew a cash advance on our credit card for $425. That was one of the best credit card charges we have ever made! Her initial owners called her “guera” because although she was a “red” dachshund, her red coloring was of a very light color and she looked a bit blonde.

When Honey came to live with our family, Brendan was 7 years old, Braden was 3, and Madison was 1. She was so much fun for all of us. She was smart, energetic, happy, playful, and so very loving and cuddly. She brought so much joy, love, and laughter to our family!! 

One of our funniest (and scariest) memories with her was when she got her tongue stuck in a turtle’s mouth. A turtle had gotten in our backyard and Honey must have been sticking her tongue in its shell to mess with it and the turtle snapped on to her tongue and drew it back into its shell. Upon hearing Honey yelping and crying out, we went outside to see what was wrong and saw the turtle was hanging from her mouth. The turtle wouldn’t let go of her tongue! We were forced to slightly hurt the turtle in order to make her let go of Honey’s tongue, but she finally did let go. Honey’s tongue may have been sore, but it was not damaged in any way.

Honey grew up with our children and grew older with me and Michael. She was a great traveling dog with our move from Texas to Colorado and all sorts of other family road trips and vacations. 

She faced many health challenges throughout her life. In December of 2005 she slipped a disc in her spine running to the front door and through the use of minimal steroids and a lot of acupuncture over the years, she continued to walk just fine. She became obese, had skin allergies, and digestive problems due to eating dog food. All three of those problems were resolved when I put her on a “real food” diet of home cooked ground meat or boiled chicken mixed with green beans or broccoli and cooked oatmeal. She began losing her eyesight about three years ago, and both her eyes had to be removed over the last year. It made no difference in her ability to get around the house. Her nose and ears served her well to find her way around. We often called her “bumper boat”. After losing her sight, she became extra dependent on me and on my company. She couldn’t stand to be without me and being without me threw her into fits of anxiety. So I rearranged some of my life around her needs. She had various special needs to her daily care and required a lot of time, so lovingly she was dubbed “PITA” for “pain in the ass”. She had some other serious health issues throughout her life, but she recovered from all of them and all necessary surgeries until this July, when she was diagnosed with heart failure. As her heart failed, her body started to shut down in other ways, and she did not recover.

I miss my faithful, devoted, and most loving friend, companion, and doggie daughter. Honey and I had a super special bond together. We knew each other well and cared for each other deeply. I long to hold her and kiss her again. As I cook in the kitchen, sit at the table to eat my meals, and sit at my desk to work, she’s no longer there sleeping at my feet. As I walk around the house, she’s no longer trying to keep up with me wherever I go. Her death has left a hole in my life and my heart. While I gave her the utmost care, I still can’t help but feel that I could have still done more to extend her life even longer.

Over the years, our family gave Honey many nicknames like Honey Girl, Honey Bunches of Oats, Bug-Bug, Buggy, Tub of Lard, Bumper Boat, Gray Paw, Honey Bunny, Pita and Pita Pet, and Princess.