Table of Contents

A New Way of Life

It�s strange how quickly life can change�and how, when it does, we just figure it out. One day, Cashie was my wild, energetic boy, sprinting through the yard without a care in the world. The next, he was completely dependent on me.

There was no time to overthink, no guidebook on how to care for a suddenly disabled pup�I just had to do it. My family jumped in too, ready to help however they could. The kids made sure his water bowl was always full and right beside him�sometimes too close. More than once, he�d try to sit up, bump it, and send water spilling across the floor. I gave up being annoyed and just kept the mop nearby at all times.

It was messy, it was exhausting, but we were making it work.

Little Joys and Josie�s Watchful Eye

I was grateful it was June. At least the warm air made things a little easier. I could carry Cashie outside, lay him under the big flowering crabapple tree, and let him soak up the fresh air. He loved it. I�d catch him breathing deeply, eyes fluttering closed, nose twitching at the scents of summer. Some days, if the wind picked up, I�d wrap him in a soft towel, and he�d drift off to sleep in the grass, content and safe.

For those brief moments, everything felt normal.

I never left him outside alone, but I wasn�t the only one keeping an eye on him. Josie was always there.

Josie, our other dog, had been Cashie�s partner-in-crime before the accident. When we brought him home, her role changed. She was jealous, sure�who wouldn�t be? Cashie was getting all the attention, and she knew it. But despite that, she never left his side.

When I brought Cashie out to the yard, Josie followed. If I had to run inside, she curled up beside him, keeping him warm. And when we were all inside, she perched on the couch, watching him with those big, wise eyes, as if she understood something we didn�t.

She wasn�t just his sister anymore. She was his protector.

Midnight Lifts and Sleepless Nights

The days had a rhythm now. We were getting used to it. But the nights? Those were different.

I couldn�t leave him downstairs alone while the rest of us slept. No matter how exhausted I was, the idea of him waking up in the dark, confused and scared, was unbearable. So every single night, I carried him upstairs and placed him at the foot of our bed. And every morning, before the house stirred awake, I carried him back down.

At first, it wasn�t too hard. He was still small. But puppies grow�fast.

Soon, my arms ached. My back throbbed. Some nights, I would sit on the edge of the bed, completely drained, wondering how much longer I could do this. I wasn�t just tired�I was bone-deep exhausted.

But then I�d hear his little sigh from the foot of the bed, that soft, content noise that told me he felt safe. And somehow, that made all the exhaustion worth it.

Finding Strength in Love

Looking back, I don�t know how we adjusted so quickly, but we did. Not because it was easy, but because we had to. Cashie depended on us for everything now, and there was never a moment where I even considered giving up.

What amazed me most wasn�t my own strength�it was his.

Cashie still wanted to be part of the family. He still wanted to be in the middle of everything, even if he couldn�t move the way he used to. He trusted us completely, and that trust gave me a strength I didn�t know I had.

Those first few weeks were some of the hardest, but they also taught me something I�ll never forget: love isn�t just the joyful, easy moments. Sometimes, love is messy. It�s exhausting. It�s carrying your dog up the stairs at midnight because you know he needs to be near you. It�s adapting when life throws something at you that you never saw coming.

We didn�t have all the answers. We didn�t know what the future held. But we had each other. And for Cashie, that was all that mattered. ??

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