Good Dog: Rest in Peace, Lola Mae Anesi

You were supposed to be our Patch Pet of the Week on Feb. 4, but I adopted you instead.

How could I resist? Your owner had been put into a nursing home, and you were scared and needed a home. It felt right.

You quickly stole our hearts with your sugary-sweet personality, the way you sleep with your tongue sticking out just a little bit, the way you get so excited to see us when we come home that you trip over yourself.

You're a lover, crawling up behind my head on the couch like a cat or nestling into my lap while I'm writing and editing Troy Patch stories. You let my 6-year-old son use you as a pillow while he watches Phineas & Ferb. You don't put up a fight when I put funny little shirts on you. You jump into my son's bed every night to read bedtime stories with us. You follow me around everywhere I go and sleep under my night stand every night in your favorite dog bed.

And every evening, as I wrap up a few last-minute work emails before bed, you're here, curled up next to me, waiting for me to finish so we can go to bed.

But not tonight.

We dropped you off Thursday morning at the vet for minor surgery expecting to see you again in the afternoon, but it wasn't meant to be. They said you were too old, and that your heart just gave out while you were under anesthesia. They said you didn't feel anything; you just slipped away.

Maybe it was supposed to be this way. You weren't meant to spend your last days in a shelter – you were meant to be here, with us, where you were happy and loved.

You were only with us for a few weeks, but in that time, you worked yourself into nearly every aspect of our lives – and into our hearts.

We miss you, Lola. Thanks for being a part of our lives.