One Year Ago...

Wow...One year ago. One year ago, my best friend, Joy, passed away. This year has been a very rough year for me. I miss Joy a lot! I still remember almost every detail of that day! From finding out, to the field trip I had to go on, and what I learned, to that moment I heard Joy thud to the ground.

Here is the post I wrote the day Joy died:

Joy, my first horse's health has been going down hill for a while. This morning, though, Daddy called Mom up and said that Joy was not doing well. I went out, and Joy was laying in her stall. We started walking her, seeing that it was most likely colic. When horses get colic, they need to keep walking. They should not be allow to roll, or their intestines will get twisted. At one point, we did take her back to her stall to rest. As soon as we let her go, she laid down. I have NEVER seen Joy lay down as fast as she did then. After a few minutes, she started to roll, but quickly stopped. She lay her head down, and I thought I was watching her die right then and there. Dad and I figured she needed to get up. We struggled to get her up, but she was pretty stubborn. We finally got her up, and started walking her. Dad did most of the walking. I did the walking during H.O.P.E. I was pretty sore from walking in muck boots. After one last walk down the lane, when we got back, Dad was walking her, he said it was as if something had snapped. All of a sudden, Joy didn't want to walk anymore. We called the vet around 6:30 pm, and she arrived at about 7. She listened to Joy's guts, and said she couldn't hear anything, which meant that her guts had stopped working. When Dad said that it was like something snapped, the vet (Dr. Pepper) said that something probably ruptured. Joy was in obvious pain, (It was obvious all day) and Dr. Pepper said that the best thing to do for my girl, was to put her down. So, almost as soon as the medicine was injected, Joy toppled over. She had lived to 27 years old, and will never be forgotten.

  Most people will just say "Oh, it was just a horse." To me, Joy was more than "Just a horse." She was one of my best friends. She didn't care what I looked like, how I act or anything. She loved me for who I am, and didn't wish I was any different. I will miss her forever.