Alice Mae Martha Birds Ovenell

Our sweet little Alice Mae passed away at 1:30am on December 12th. If you have ever lost a beloved animal you know how hard it is. She was such a big part of our family. At 120 she had a solid presence in our home. She slept on the couch, when she stretched it was half way across the living room and she was a talker. By that I mean that Alice let you know exactly what she needed by nudging you along or hitting your hand and pushing ever so gently. She was the sweetest, most kind girl that just wanted to be loved. She loved love. She loved hugs (but only by a select few people) she loved having sweet things whispered in her ears, she loved car rides with her head out of the window and she loved our family. She was protective beyond belief but had nothing to back up her fierce bark. To say she was the scared lion would be an understatement. She was scared of the world which made her all the more endearing. She needed to be told that it was going to be okay.

Our house feels so empty these days without our sweet girl. She wasn't well though and we knew it for some time. On December 11th we took her to the emergency animal hospital because she was throwing up and we could just tell in her eyes that she didn't feel well. They thought her stomached had flipped, which is a common and deadly problem in great danes and said that she would need emergency surgery. Of course we wanted to do everything we could so we gave the go ahead, but shortly after we got a call that they weren't sure she was strong enough to make it through the night. Her blood pressure was crazy low and they thought that perhaps she would go into cardiac arrest in the night. Matt and I headed back down to the hospital and made one of the hardest decisions ever. We had to say goodbye to our darling little Alice Mae. She wasn't conscience and we knew that she was critically ill. She was only 4.7 years old. So hard to say goodbye but we knew we had too.

Animals have a funny way of sneaking right into a special place in your heart. Alice never spoke a word, but taught me so much at the same time. She was my hip dog, always by my side. I miss her more than I ever would have imagined. It does get a little easier each day but that sweet dog will always hold a very special place in my heart. We love and miss you sweet girl.