Thank everyone for such nice responses. Actually, I wasn't brave at all. In fact, tears were streaming down my face the entire time that I wrote that piece. The decision was so difficult. The only way I came to the decision was to ask myself if I thought Muffin would want to live that way. She kissed me that night because she wanted me to help her. Whenever she needed help, she would come to me and kiss me. It was just her way. Muffin was a wild one in her day. We would get a bottle of bubbles and go out on the patio and I would blow bubbles all over the patio. She used to have so much fun chasing those bubbles. Balloons were a favorite, too. Yes, we had a very noisy household. I would blow up balloons and toss one in the air. She would run after it and bounce it in the air with her nose like a seal
This would go on until the balloon became cornered and she'd bite at it and it would pop. Then she'd look at me and start barking because she wanted another balloon! She had one particular toy that she adored that was given to her on the day we brought her home. It was a stuffed dog. It was bigger than her on that day. You can imagine how bad it looked after fourteen years. It had been through many romps and much chewing and many washes, but she loved that dog. If she left it in another room, I would ask her where her doggy was and she'd look in the direction it was in. Then I'd tell her to go get her doggy and she'd go get it and bring it to me. When she was still a puppy, I would hold her "doggy" in one hand and sling it around in circles and then toss it to her and somehow she picked up on that and she began to sling it around in circles, while holding her head up as much as she could. She was lots of fun and I can't believe how quiet it is around here without her.