Dealing with loss, to be blunt, sucks.

First, the Winnie the Pooh hive.  We're really glad that we got the second hive started, the undersea one, because the Pooh hive is, in short, defunct.  The second queen is gone, the population is abysmal, and the colony is just not going to make it.  At this point, it's way too late in the season to rebuild, so we're focusing on the undersea hive, which is going gangbusters, and we'll restart the Pooh hive come spring, either with a split from the undersea hive if it's strong enough or with a new nuc.

Then, worse, and more heartbreaking, Meg.  It's been hard for me to talk about this.  I got Megaera when she was a 9-week-old puppy in 1998.  You've met here (with video), here, here, here, and here.  Best dog ever.  Smart, stubborn, fun, active, caring.  If I was upset, she'd run over to kiss me and make me feel better, every time.  She was half sheltie/half eskimo, and we had fun watching her try to herd the cats.  When she was younger and more spry, she loved hiking and was as agile as a mountain goat.

On Thursday, June 26, I came home from work to find Meg wounded and rushed her to the vet, finding out that she had a mast cell tumor.  We got her medication and tried to bring the swelling down so she could have another good couple of months, but it didn't work.  On the morning of Saturday, June 28, we brought her back to the vet and that was that.  She was 16 years, 3 months, and 16 days old.  I know that's a good long time and I know she had a good life, but it's never enough.  Not really.  Eric had only known her since April of 2008, and he was as much a mess as I.

We love her, always will.

We'll get another dog, for sure, and in the not-too-distant future.  I've had dogs since I was 9 and can't be dogless.  And Eric's always wanted a dog, so of course he wants another.  At this point, it's been almost 4 weeks, and I surprised myself that I'm already able to look at adoptable dogs without hysterically crying.  Just a week or two ago, I couldn't.  I'm still torn, feeling partly like a traitor to Meg, but mostly like there are other dogs that need good homes, and honestly?  Eric and I need a dog.

So we'll see.