Rest In Peace, Stinky Pooch

This past week was a tough one for our family. You may or may not know that Frankie has had a somewhat extensive history of infections in his mouth, resulting in several trips to the vet for tooth extractions, antibiotics, and pain medicines. While we were in Utah, his mouth got very painful again, so Nana took him to the leading dental vet in the Midwest for an evaluation. The vet explained that Frankie's problem was partly due to breeding issues (he had teeth that were to big for his mouth) and partly due to the fact that he wasn't producing enough saliva, probably a genetic issue. The only options for treatment were removing all or most of Frankie's teeth, with frequent professional dental cleanings, daily antibiotics, tooth brushing, and horrible tasting mouthwash that needed to be syringed into his mouth. Not only were those options beyond our abilities financially, there was no guarantee that they would even work, meaning Frankie could still go on with great pain in his mouth. Taking all that into consideration, we were forced to decide that it was time for Frankie to go live with Heavenly Father. When we told Jack, he said that it would be OK because Heavenly Father would give Frankie hugs and make him happy.

It's no secret that Frankie and I have not always had the smoothest relationship, but as I thought back over the past few years, many of my best memories of Stef's and my life together involved Frankie. He was always great with the boys (except the one time that he jumped into newborn Jack's play pen, but that was more Grandma Becky and Stef's fault than Frankie's), he kept our kitchen floor spotless, and he could warm up my feet on a cold Wisconsin winter's night. And most importantly, he made Stef happy, which made his existence in our house more than worth the incessant barking and accumulating poop. So, until we meet again Frankie, we will miss you...yes, all of us.