03/15/2021
It is with unspeakable sadness that I write to tell you that our beloved Alpine passed from this world today joining hundreds of humans she helped to pass before her. It has only been a week since the diagnosis. So death came quickly. She rallied for a few days, giving hope for more time. She even swam in the pond on Friday, one of her favorite things to do. But today she took a downturn. Her passing was peaceful, natural. She was lying in the sunlight on the farm where she had spent many happy hours. In her beloved humanโs words, โShe died like you or I would want to die.โ And โwe are calling this a very good life and a good deathโ. As hospice personnel and volunteers, we know that this is our goal: A good life. A peaceful death. In my imagination I see hundreds of hospice patients whose lives she touched reaching with outstretched arms, lovingly lifting her out of this world. It appears as though this is how she went. Peacefully.
Please join me in unspeakable gratitude for what this dog brought to all of our lives. I am grateful to those of you who worked with her, from the Ann Arbor administration to all the volunteers who strived to make Alpineโs life as happy as it could be for a working dog. It took incredible sensitivity and dedication to make everything assimilate as well as it did to meet the needs of the dog, the patients and the agency. On a final note, I ask, please reserve a little time before contacting Susan with inquiries. Knowing how much everyone loved Alpine, she asked me to pass along this news to you. But she needs a little time. This is a great loss to all of us, but most especially to her.
Thanks again to all of you for everything you did to make that dogโs life all that it was.
I know that Alpine thanks you from the bottom of her great big heart.
Sincerely,
Helen Buccella-Costa