Baylor Winston’s Farewell
Baylor came into our lives in June of 2016 at only 8 weeks old. We drove from Jacksonville, Florida to Blacksburg, Virginia to pick up our fur baby! After driving over 12 hours with so much excitement and anticipation, we arrived safely to finally take home our little guy! We headed back to Florida with a new family member who was scared, confused, and not sure why or where he was going. I assured him that he was safe and that he was going to be so loved from here on out! We didn’t have a full name at the time but we knew his first name was Baylor. During our commute we passed a town called Winston which stood out to us. We felt it went perfectly with his first name and it would always remind us of our first roadtrip together, so that’s when Baylor Winston was officially chosen to be his name!
After a long journey, we finally made it home and introduced him to his new life. He was a feisty little guy who started to show us his true personality in the weeks to follow! We knew we had our hands full but our hearts were fuller! My husband was active military at the time and unfortunately had to go on a deployment leaving me and Baylor behind. We quickly grew a bond like no other. When I say he was my shadow, I meant it! He followed every step I took. I just knew he was my forever best friend and soul mate.
My husband returned home from deployment and shortly after his arrival Baylor became extremely sick. We rushed him to the emergency vet where we were told he wouldn’t make it through any treatments or procedures. We refused to give up that easy so we went to get a second opinion from another Doctor who diagnosed Baylor with a small esophagus tear, which had to be ballooned so that he could eat properly. We were so thankful we took the chance on getting a second opinion. Weeks, months, and even years went by and we were blessed beyond measure with his health and his spunky spirits. Nothing I mean nothing would stop this guy! It wasn’t until recently when we received terrible news that he had Hemangiosarcoma also known as cancer of the lungs. We didn’t have many thoughts that crossed our minds other than to give him the quality of life he had remaining rather than treating him to just buy time. We continued to pray and had maybe three weeks of pure joy until he couldn’t fight any longer. We faced the hard reality of it and realized he was simply exhausted. We were so lucky to have met Dr. Melissa who came to our home and comforted us while we said our final goodbyes! Baylor was an amazing dog! He knew how loved he was and the many lessons he taught us will forever remain in our hearts. Although our time together was cut short, it was filled with memories and love we had never experienced before. We are so very grateful for the past 8 years! Rest in peace Baylor! We will always love you and miss you! Until we meet again.
- Lauren & Brad Smith
