Well, I decided, based on Toddie's general sweetness and my own good up-rearing and all, I would forgive Toddie and gently remind him that he loved me.  He gave me a sweet lick and lied down.

I went and told Nana and she went and got Grandpa and they were crying.  So I started crying and so Nana has to write this next part because I am so sad.

This is Nana and I am going to talk to Bailey because he is a little confused but the rest of you can listen in if you like.

On this earth, we called Todd a Shiz Hsu. He came from a long line of proud ancestors whose job it was to protect the Emperor and his family.  They carried these little dogs in their sleeves - this is where you get the saying about people "hiding something up their sleeve."  But Todd was born in a mystical land called Blaine, by the sea with beaches and seagulls and waves and all.  And he wobbled over and chose The Girl and she brought him home.  Todd had wonky eyes that couldn't tell depth so he would run around the corner and WACK! straight into the wall. He liked to sleep on the bed and we soon found out he needed a king-size bed for the little Emperor's dog.

Toddie looked like an Ewok.  He didn't like to wear human doll clothes and he acted like a cat most of the time.  He like tomatoes and ketch-up, ice cream, mashed potatoes and gravy.  He did not like peas or strawberries.  He seemed to believe that if it was not worth wearing, then it was not worth eating.  For a while, Todd fell into the "wrong crowd"...Auggie.  Auggie was from the wrong side of good and did his best to corrupt Todd.  But Todd was too good, or had hit his head too hard, too often and so he remained pure and sweet.  He didn't like to get cold.

Toddie The Pure and the Brave died in Nana's arms last Sunday night. June 2, 2013.  We knew that Toddie had a stroke on Friday night and so we stayed close on Saturday and Sunday.  We could tell he was leaving so the children came to say good bye.  They were so soft and gentle. but wanted to know what would happen to Todd.

This is what we believe and this is what we told them:  We believe that all things were created spiritually upon this earth before they were created physically.  We believe that we lived with our Heavenly Father before we came here and we will go back to him as we choose to do what He would have us do.  So Toddie's spirit went back to Heavenly Father and Todd will get to play with Peta, Major, Curtis, Peanuts and Boots.  We believe that when the Savior comes back to Earth and its all glorified and perfect, Toddie will get his perfect little body back and he will stay with our family.

Grandpa buried Toddie's body in a casket in our yard by the roses.  We said a prayer.  Every now and then, we cry for a few minutes because we miss him.  He taught us a lot about patience, forgiveness, gentleness, boundaries, unconditional love, courage in the face of suffering. He taught us that if we are kind, perfection's failures have meaning. He taught us that looking clean and fresh helped you feel good about yourself.  He taught us that tomato sauce stains but to kiss him anyway.

Thank you for letting us share our sadness - it became halved - and thank you for being our friends.   Bailey is feeling pretty down these days and a good tummy rub is appreciated.

Never ever let the last thing out of your mouth be anything but I love you.

We love you Toddie.  You made us better, kinder, softer, gentler, more.  Good night sweet Emperor Dog,  we will see you soon.