When I was first practicing as a veterinarian, Dakota was relinquished by his owner, who had run over him accidentally when he was about eight weeks old. His right femur was broken in half. Thanks to my boss, Dr. Ken Lust, the fracture was successfully repaired and I adopted the best dog I could’ve ever hoped to have. Besides, our technicians would not let us euthanize him!! And who could with those beautiful brown eyes? Dakota had a huge vocabulary and he was so smart that he never forgot something, whether it was good or bad. Sometimes I almost thought he was too sensitive, but he was the most loving dog I could’ve ever asked for. Unfortunately, Dakota struggled with arthritis in his hip, a large mass in his spleen (which was not a hemangiosarcoma surprisingly), and tumors in his lungs. Ultimately, the splenectomy gave him three more months of a wonderful life, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We got to go to all of our favorite places. My fiancé, Nika, was the love of his life and he really enjoyed doing fun things with him. I was more of the strict mama, but I did everything in my power to give him the best life I could until the end. Ultimately, the cancer got to him and he lost an incredible amount of weight. He told us when it was time, and letting him go was very hard. But I knew that we had been blessed with the most wonderful soul for 13 years. I love you Dakota, and I miss you every single day. Dana