The day I dread is getting closer than I expected and I only pray that God saves me from having to make the hard decision.

I have enjoyed his peaceful company for the last 14 years. He came to my life as a beautiful golden retriever puppy. He was as golden as the Namib dessert is at sunset and we named him Nambi. Always adventurous, fearless and never complained of any pain. He was gifted with a beautiful predisposition. He never sought a fight and his signature greeting was a happy noise, a wagging tail and a lick in your face. At every stage of his life we call him different names: Nambi, Golden, Tus, Pooh Pooh but the name that stick the most was Poohbear and that is how he is known now.

For the last 3 months I have spend my mornings walking him slowly to his favorite place so he can feel the grass under his feet and soak up the sun. His once beautiful fur is now very thin, and his still beautiful face shows the signs of age. His face is not golden any more but white like the angel in my dreams.

We knew when he was a puppy that his hips were going to fail one day. The vet told us once that he was the poster child of hip dysplasia. That never stopped him from enjoying life at the fullest. He loved the water and swam at every chance he got. He learned to bark on command and used it to his advantage each time he wanted a treat. Although annoying, it became adorable to me.

People say that the company of a dog has mood-enhancing benefits. This proved absolutely true for me. I still feel an incredible peace when I hug him, and I feel extreme happiness when his loving eyes meet mine. It is humbling to know that somebody can love you that much.

For the past year, my beautiful Golden has slow down. I learned to accommodate my schedule and my pace to his. I knew one day I will loose him and so I decided to fully enjoy every second that I was blessed with his company.

Three days ago, his legs finally gave up. He stop wanting to go for his walk. He can not longer stand without help and I know the time is coming. I promised myself to be strong, to find comfort knowing that he has had the best possible life and that he never lacked love; however it does not make it any easier. I know I have to let him go for his own development, but I only hope his departure from this world will be natural since I do not believe we have the right to end life that we did not create. I want him to go to sleep and fly free in his dreams to a better place and I pray that God grants me that wish.

Thank you Nambi, my beautiful Poohbear for sharing with me your life.

My day started with a tire that blew up as I was driving to get the morning bagels for my coffee shop. I was able to get to a side road and turn the car off. At 7am on a Monday, all my guy friends were in the shower, sleeping or simply had their mobile phones off. Some of my girlfriends were up; however, most of them like me have never changed a tire!

The usual trick “stand pretty and look helpless” until some guy stops and offers a hand, was not useful on a side street, no traffic, no guys around.

I have seen my dad, brother and boyfriends change tires so I knew the process. I proceeded to open the trunk and tried to get the jack. I pulled as hard as I could and it did not move an inch! I knew I was doing something wrong. My brother always says, “if you are having a hard time getting something out or opening a bottle of prescription medicine, you are doing something wrong”. So, I opened the owner’s manual where it clearly said, turn the knob counterclockwise to get the jack out. I did as instructed and the jack came off!

Now that I had the jack and the spare tire, I was ready for the next step. I started to loosen the nuts. Whoever tied them before did a pretty good job. I tried to loosen them with the wrench with no luck. I placed the wrench in the right position so I can step on it and use my body weight…not a good idea if you are wearing high heels! The gym bag that is a permanent feature in my car in case I feel the urge to exercise came handy. I changed my shoes and looking rather funny I started loosen the nuts.

Next step; the jack. I read the instructions and located the exact place where I was supposed to place the jack. No glamor in this, I was trying to do the less damage to my work clothes so I barely put my knees on the floor, butt up in the air and long hair all rubbing in the pavement, but I was happy I saw the little metal part where the jack was supposed to go. I started to jack the car off the ground; everything was looking good until suddenly the car moved a little and twisted the jack I started the reverse process in hope that I can get it to a point where I can start over again. It was harder than I thought. At this point, I did not mind getting dirty; I was ready to lie down on the pavement when he showed up!

I had called and left text messages on my closest guy friends, including ex-husband, ex-boyfriends, co-workers and my dear handyman. Suddenly he was there, the least expected one, the one that is a phone call away when FHA requires repairs and becomes the best friend of my first-time home buyers. He paints entire homes, fixes drywall, lays tile, wood floors, cleans backyards, hooks fans etc. and now he was becoming my triple A!

He got the jack from his car, lifted my car, change the tire, place the tire in my trunk and I was on my way in less than minutes.

I had no cash on me but I had my credit card. Wow, I could enjoy breakfast with him and earn miles at the same time! but he said that he just ate Not having anything else to offer I said to him: “I owe you one”. He looked at me and said: “You don’t owe me anything. I have so much gratitude towards you that I could not pass the opportunity to help you”. I did not expect that answer, he did not owe me anything. His kind words totally made my day!

Nevertheless, after a visit to discount tire, which as always were very helpful, I got to my office and joined triple A (AAA).