On May 19, 2018, my family’s golden retriever (Scarlett) of 13 years, collapsed. 30 minutes later, after I had told my children to say their tearful goodbyes, Scarlett was at the veterinarian’s office, put to sleep for good.

The imagery around the series of events leading up to the end does not go away, and I’m confident that anyone reading this who has been through the heartache of knowing when your pet has nothing more to give also remembers the details of that last day.