This is our darling girl, Dresdan, informally known as Drezzie, or Drez. She came to us as a rescue at 28 months old, an owner turn-in because of family constraints. From day one, she was a blessing and a very special gift to us. It was love at first sight for our kids, who were 12 and 8 at the time, and she loved them back just as much. She was definitely a Daddy's girl, but also loved Mommy.

Her most striking feature were her eyes – one blue, one brown. Although it's not an uncommon feature for sheepdogs, most people had never seen it before and it just drew them to her even more. And she loved all the attention! She was definitely a people dog, always craving hugs and kisses.

She had her quirks. She was a garbage hound, to the point where we had to physically remove the garbage can from the kitchen or we'd come home to fantastic messes! She sometimes liked to hide her dog biscuits in the house plants. We knew whenever we saw dirt around the base of the plants that Drez the Hider was at it again!

Her most favorite thing to do in the world was 'go bye-bye.' Just the mention of those words would send her into a frenzy! She would press her face against the windows and watch the world go by, and occasionally she would stick her head through the front seats with a big smile on her face, as if to say, 'Thanks, you guys!' Her second favorite thing to do was swim. Although she would swim to cool off if no one was in the pool, it was obvious that her favorite pool times were when people were in with her. She looked at it as her 'job,' to make sure everyone in the pool was safe. She would swim around us all and if we dared move from one part of the pool to the other, she would get right back in and swim around us again. She was our protector extraordinaire.

At ll years of age, we discovered Drez had hip dysplasia. We had an FHO performed on her right hip but couldn't have the left hip done, because her right hip would have never been strong enough to support her through recuperation. Turns out, though, that her left hip got her through the final stages of her life better than her surgically repaired right hip! Through it all, she never whimpered or shied away from doing anything – she would just do things slower.

We finally had to admit that our girl's time had come. For all those years, she had given our family unconditional love and support, goofy and special memories to last a lifetime, and saying good-bye was something we didn't want to do. But BECAUSE she had given us so much is why we had to let her go. For all she gave us, we owed it to her to let her go with at least a small amount of dignity.

Our hearts are broken, but we are better people for having her in our lives. Good-bye, baby girl. We will miss you forever.

Chris and Dale Vliet