Maya passed away in February after a few weeks of illness that came out of nowhere. It's taken me this long to be able to compile some of my favorite photos and videos of her. There's so much more that could say about her and how much she means to me and I fear this video hardly does my love for her justice, but I hope it somehow honors her anyway.
If anyone from her veterinary teams are watching, I want to thank you for the extraordinary care you gave her while she was with you. While I wish that the outcome had been very different, I could not have wished for better care for her or empathy for me. Your kindness will never be forgotten.
If anyone out there in the world is still reading, I would encourage you to research pet insurance. Without it, for financial reasons, I would have had to let Maya go on her second day of showing symptoms. I’ve said to myself on more than one occasion over the last couple weeks, “I wish I could have just one more day with her”. The reality is, that having pet insurance, gave me an extra 47. I will be forever grateful for that.
The other advice I’d give is to take pictures of everything. Even if people make fun of you for it or you're self-conscious about it, like I often am. Take the photo anyway. Set up your phone to video all the things that you consider ordinary, because, someday, it’s all of those moments that you’ll miss the most.
I'm so thankful that I have so many of these memories to look back on over and over again. The nighttime/daytime clip in this video has brought me to tears multiple times. I totally forgot that I filmed it. This is the only video I have of our beloved game.
Maya was a constant source of love and joy for me for many years.
I imagine now that she's somewhere weaving between mountains and chasing shorelines. I imagine she's running and jumping and smiling. I imagine she never looks behind her and she never runs out of breath.
When we see each other again, I imagine she'll show me all of her favorite places as we walk side by side,, but only after asking me her very favorite question, the one I was lucky enough to ask her so many times over the decade we spent with each other: "Do you wanna... Go on an adventure?"
And, of course, before she can finish, I'll say, "Yes!"