On Feb. 4, 1992, I brought home a squiggling little black puppy. She was born via c-section, and was the only pup in the litter. Her birth mom rejected her, so as a dutiful and animal loving employee of the Pet Resort Veterinary Hospital, I took it upon myself to raise this pup as my own.

So I boxed up my new baby, pet nurser bottles, a heating pad and brought her home. I showed my mother, who inspired me to take a chance with rejected baby kittens. She probably sighed and rolled her eyes, but when the pup cried at night, she'd wake me. "Steph, your baby is crying, better feed it." So I did. At this time I was still in high school, so I took my puppy to my work every morning before school and picked her up every afternoon for about 6 weeks. The puppy thrived, chewed up my boyfriend's book, ate chap stick, pencils, and stuffed rabbits. She grew and grew. Then in the fall of 93 after graduating, she and I moved in with my boyfriend.

I continued to work at the Pet Resort and she continued to travel everyday to work with me. She enjoyed sitting in my chair behind me and greeting customers. She loved visiting my boyfriend at his work, and absolutely loved visiting her future mother-in-law at her home.

When my boyfriend and I got married in 95, I joked that I wasn't going to change her last name too...

We all moved to Tucson and Penny always rode quietly in the car whenever we came back for visiting. She has seen Chinlie, the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, all over Lake Havasu and Tucson.

She loved food of all kinds, coffee (I caught her once or twice up on the table licking out of a coffee mug) belly rubs, and if you pet her on her chest in that special spot, she'd nearly fall over with pleasure. She hated baths, getting her nails trimmed, and little kids.

Yesterday she ate a couple of bites. Today she refused to eat. Her stomach had grown hard and round and tender to the touch. Her ribs were showing and her fur was thinning. Blindness had set in and she has been deaf for about a year. Today my dear friend came over to help me end her suffering. Penny died today surrounded by her humans that loved her, and her friend Chester who gave her a lick on her nose as she breathed one last time.