I put this one under family because as much as my cousins are my family, Diesel is my family. He is the dog we couldn’t have. Diesel came into my cousins life (the baker) a couple of months before we moved to Germany. When we met him, he was a puppy. A crazy, wild, adorable puppy. Actually, that never changed. He’s still a wild & crazy guy.

Last month I stopped by my cousins (Bie d’r Bekker) twice to pick up vlaai-pie’s, say hello, and play with Diesel. I have to get my doggy fix in somewhere and Diesel is my best bet these days. Was. Diesel was my best bet.

Earlier this week my cousin called. Diesel had very unexpectedly died. Surrounded by the people he loves, the people that loved him, he took one last step, collapsed and died. His heart gave out. He was only nine.

He wasn’t mine, but he was part of my family and my heart has hurt all week. He was a beautiful, wild & crazy boy. I already miss him so much. I can’t quite wrap my brain around the idea that he won’t be there to greet me next time I pull up to the gate. Being greeted by a dog, his whole body wagging with happiness to see you, is one of the best things on this planet. I am going to miss him so much.

I got a little sentimental and looked through my old photo’s of Diesel. He normally isn’t posing. He’s not a sit quiet kind of guy. He is play-with-you and go kind of guy. I have one video of him chasing Cows away up on the blog. He was protecting me. It was sweet. He was such a sweet, good boy. My heart is hurting all over again.

This is my favorite photo. He stood still for a split second before coming to lick me and my camera. I can’t believe he’s gone.