January 10, 2010 — September 3, 2016

Panda, who was a saint bernard, was only about 5 months old when my ex mother in law was watching my son who was 3 and diagnosed with autism. I received a call from her that I had to come and get Panda because she was just acting out. I thought what could this puppy be doing, it was too hot to keep her outside so my former mother in law locked her in a bedroom. I asked my father to go and get her, he was on vacation and I was at work. He arrived at the house and heard a banging noise coming from the bedroom, it came in intervals. Not knowing what the noise was he went to the door and heard it again, he waited a minute and then as he opened the door Panda Bear was backing up with her head down about to charge the door again, when she saw the door open she pushed past my father and ran to my son and laid in between my son and my former mother in law. She just wanted to see if my son was ok. She would often lay with the therapists and watch what they did with my son, she was there to protect my son. My son couldn’t speak until he was four, so to say Panda Bear was a mouthful, the best we got was “pina” as in pina colada! I called her that right up to the day she died, I told her, “Go on Pina, time to go and feel cooler and get groomed”, she ran out to the car she did.
My heart is completely broken that she is gone and even though it will heal the scar will forever remain. I will never forget our long talks or the fact that we stuck together in the divorce. She used to raise her eyebrows at me, ha ha not even her whole head, I loved that about her. I love you baby girl rest in eternal peace…gone too soon, but never to be forgotten.