Dixie Lee's Passing

As time goes by since our labrador retriever, Dixie Lee, passed on, my memory of her becomes hazier, but I particularly remember our last minutes together.  About six in the morning my wife heard her having difficulty breathing downstairs in her kennel.  We went down to check on her.  The kennel door was open and we sat beside her.  She seemed to feel our presence.  She continued to breathe with difficulty for 10 or 15 minutes as we sat with her, and then she just quit breathing.  It seemed like she felt she could go on, once we were there with her.  She was a good dog in life and death.