New Mexico To New York: The Journey

The past week I was helping to move my parents from Albuquerque, NM to Ogdensburg, NY. My dad got a job up there so it was up to us to pack up the entire family....cats, goats, chickens, and one dog.  While I have many stories and videos of the drive to share with you, I do have to tell you about one part that is particularly sad...and I promise things do get better from this story.

After driving 50 hours across the country my parents found their new home to be the perfect fit for their new lifestyle.  Having not been in the house for even 24 hours they were outside with their 11-year-old border collie, Nellie.  Nellie, being one of those dogs that's not a dog at all, more like a person who brings a smile to your face every time you see her, hadn't been much of a wanderer. But Tuesday night she wandered a little too close to the road and was hit and killed by a car.

Obviously this has been a completely devastating time for my parents and me.  We're family and what one goes through, we all go through.  They have handled everything with such grace.  My mom said to me this morning, "God knows when it's our time, and Nellie's time just happened to be then.  But I am comforted knowing that whatever great care we have taken of her here, she's getting a million times that up there."

As they get settled in their new home, I suspect they won't ever forget Nellie. They will likely get another dog but they know they will never have another Nellie.