I don’t know where to begin writing this. I don’t want to say it out loud because it makes it real.

This past week we unexpectedly had to send Chomper back to heaven. She was only seven years old.

Chomper lived life to the absolute fullest, at a 110% high-octane level. She was so full of spirit and zest for life, and was equally full of zest and love for our family.

She had her own voice, numerous catch-phrases and endless nicknames. Chomp, Chompooz, Pooz, Poozie, Baby Pootie, Baby Beefers, The Beef, Beouf…the list goes on. She had an under bite and she’d always have her ‘two toofers’ hanging out. She was pure white (and 100% pure beef) with only a black stumpy tail, and as she got older she got more and more black spots all over her skin. We’re pretty sure she was half pig. When she’d start out barking quietly, it sounded like she was saying, “beouf…beouf…” She honked instead of whined. She thought of herself as ‘the coolest dog who ever lived.’ She pretended to be so tough, yet was widely known as the nurse as she cared for our kids unconditionally. She was Zoe and Gray’s best friend. She was our extreme cuddler. (Everything she did was extreme.) She was Parker’s obnoxious yet devoted little sister and best friend. She was the project manager, always at our sides no matter what we were working on. She was our flight risk and went on quite a few adventures around our neighborhoods. She would chew her Nylabones down to shanks and hide them in her kennel. She was always on the hunt for a good snooze and a patch of sun. She was our bed-warmer. Our pillow-smasher. Our dog-dreamer.

She was always underfoot…specifically mine. She was my shadow, my assistant, and my caretaker. When I was pregnant, she napped wedged between my swollen legs. She tried to tell me I was having twins long before I knew by honking at me for hours beginning at 3 p.m. daily. She cuddled me through my postpartum. She got little white hairs everywhere. She was the coolest dog that ever lived. She’s made us laugh so hard and brought us so much happiness.

These are just a few shots from our daily life–snapshots, cell phone pictures, and a few Instagrams. The kinds of moments I’ll truly miss the most…hanging around the house together. Her puppy pictures are packed; here’s a picture-of-a-picture of Puppy Pooz:

Our sweet Chomper, always one ear up, one ear down…

Two toofers:

Snack Pooz:

Cuddle Pooz:

Project manager, sleeping on the job:

Nurse Pooz:

Boppy Pooz:

Lookin’ tough:

Making shanks:

How I will always picture her, bounding full-speed, full-throttle, full of life and pure joy and making me smile:

Last week she got a fluke injury while roughhousing with Parker, and lost use of her back half. Choosing to relieve her pain was one of the hardest things both Zac and I have ever had to do. I don’t know as if I’ll ever wrap my head around how quickly things happened and that I won’t get to squeeze her face anymore. We will miss her forever. Her uneven ears…black lips…two toofers…little paws…all of her spots, and that little black tail. I am a pretty private person and try not to get too personal on my blog , but I want everyone to know how awesome Chomper was and what an amazing life she lived! I want to celebrate her as best I can and as she deserves, and I wanted to share a peek into the life of Pooz. The Coolest Dog that Ever Lived.

My heart is so broken. We love you so much, Chomper. We know you’re with us every day in a different version now. I know we’ll laugh again soon enough in your honor…we all miss you like crazy.