Lexis

On Saturday March 9, 2013 we drove to Albuquerque to adopt a dog named Shadow. Our house had been broken into less than a month before and Dave was traveling a lot for work. I was hoping a dog would ease my mind when he wasn't home. When we got there, Shadow had been adopted. We decided to head to another shelter to see if we could find another dog to adopt. We walked through the shelter and row after row of vicious, snarling, barking pit bulls scared us all to death. Then we came to a quiet kennel with a medium black and white dog. Her back was to the door and she was looking outside with a look like "somebody PLEASE get me out of here." We brought Lexis home that day. She was terrified and shaking so Dave had to hold her the whole way home. Just as we drove into our neighborhood she threw up. And then threw up again. And I thought "What the H did I just get myself into?" I did not grow up with animals and I was seriously questioning our choices.  It turns out Lexis was the perfect dog for us. She was gentle and kind with us but growled and barked at anyone who wasn't a Foley, just what I needed for my peace of mind. 

She adored Dave and the second he was home she'd wag her tail and stare at him, just waiting to see what he would do--give her a treat, take her for a walk, or give her pets. What I didn't realize at the time was how good she was for our family. I grew up afraid of dogs for no reason other than dogs scared me, but my kids would not grow up with that fear. Our white house had a big long driveway and any time the kids got too close to the street she would herd them back onto the driveway to keep them safe. She loved chasing rabbits and prairie dogs though she never actually caught them. 

I remember introducing her to baby Finnegan and then baby Jonas. She sniffed them and tried to lick them and wagged her tail and immediately accepted them as part of our pack. I took Lexis to the dog park not long after Finnegan was born and I was so irritated that she wouldn't run and play until a lady I was talking to said "she's protecting your baby." And she was right--Lexis sat next to Finn in the stroller and wouldn't leave our side. Our kids adored her. One of my favorite memories is little Finnegan in our front yard trying to climb on her back and she kept running away and he kept saying "Stop it Lexis, I riding you!" After she tore her ACL in January of 2019 we thought we would have to put her down so we brought her in the house for a few days to love on her (she had been strictly an outside dog to this point)...and then she healed. So we now had an inside dog. 

The past few years she has slowed down a lot and started turning so gray. Dave would take her on runs and end up dragging her home because she couldn't keep up anymore.

On Saturday she came inside and was panting really hard. She tried to walk down the hall and was leaning up against the wall and stumbling. She started turning in circles and freaking out and threw up several times. Our neighbors don't like us and threw dog poop all over our driveway that morning so our first instinct was that she had been poisoned. We put her in the garage to keep her contained where she continued vomiting for the next 24 hours. She was unable to walk at all on her own and wasn't eating or drinking. She finally stopped vomiting so we brought her inside but she still couldn't walk. She was holding her head to the side and it clicked: she probably had a stroke. We looked up the symptoms and it seems very likely (and strangely coincidental). Since Saturday she hasn't been able to eat or use the restroom. She drinks if we hold up the bowl to her face but otherwise she has just laid on her bed for 4 days. We knew it was time.

Monday night we facetimed with Izzie so she could say goodbye. Before I left for work this morning I gave her pets and looked in her eyes and told her thank you for making our family better and said I was so sorry this happened. Then Dave took the other 4 kids with him to the vet. She passed away at 12:00 pm today, Wednesday April 30, 2025 with her favorite people surrounding and loving her. We had her longer than we've had Finnegan and Jonas, and Zoe doesn't remember life without her. She was the goodest dog and we already miss her so much. She really was part of our family.

Thank you Lexis, for making our family complete. We'll see you again!