when a dog dies

This story started about 5 or 6  years ago. Dan and I were living in Coalville, Utah and I was going to school and working at Denise's Home Plate. It was the cutest little restaurant. Most of our customers were locals. One day I was cooking away in the back kitchen and a lady came back and said "my son and daughter and leaving to dental school and they can't take their dog with them, he is a very tame golden retriever/lab mix, if you want him go to the pound and get him!" Dan had been begging me for a baby or a dog for awhile and since I wasn't pregnant, I thought "I am going to surprise Dan with this dog!" I knew that I did not want a puppy to train and the lady had said that the dog was pretty well trained and calm and obedient and he even knew a few tricks. So, I drove to park city after my shift and purchased a leash, some food and maybe a few other things and picked him up from the pound. I was so excited for Dan to come home and see my surprise. Those two were best friends from the start. I liked Chance because he never jumped up on me (or anyone else), he rarely barked and he just was good company for a run. This was a little bit after Dan's mom had passed away so we would often go running up to the cemetery and stop by her grave for a minute. Chance would often run away but most of the time we found him sitting on Martha's grave...it was the sweetest thing. A little while after we got Chance, Dan got sick and was in and out of the hospital. The hospital staff would let family bring Chance in to cheer Dan up. We would take him outside on a little walk and then Chance would just sit on the ground by Dan's hospital bed or on his feet. He was just a kind and gentle dog...never annoying.
When Dan received his kidney transplant from my BFF Kae, I had to go to work soon after and Chance would come into the house and hang out with Dan while I was gone. He motivated Dan to get out and go on short walks to help him heal. I do believe that dogs cannot become special healers and friends to people who are ill.
Chance moved with us to Willard and we received many compliments about his good behavior. He would kindly walk people up to our door and show them which one to knock it (it is kind of confusing seeing as we have so many doors all facing the front of the house:)
Chance was so good to let Sophie climb all over him and ride him like a horse. I often came home to see Chance sitting on the porch sitting right next to our neighbors chicken..it was the cutest thing.
Chance liked to come on family walks with us and on runs with me. I will never forget one of the last runs we went on together...it was pouring rain and Chance was in so much pain that he couldn't keep up, I felt so sad that he wasn't able to do what he loved.
It seemed like Chance got sick all at once. He was kind of limping when we left to California last week and I made a mental note to take Chance to the vet when we got back. My mom called on our trip to tell me that he had gone over to her house and was staying in her laundry room. He wasn't eating very much and he wasn't walking around at all. The vet said that in his condition, we could try to keep him alive for a few more months, but it could get very expensive and he really wouldn't have his quality of life would just not be there. So, we made a difficult decision and decided to get him put down. It was a rough day....Sophie kept saying where is Chance, I want him back. We tried to explain the whole thing to her, but she just didn't really get it. We buried him at my parents house and had a lovely memorial for him.
Chance is a dog that will be missed! He will stay in our hearts forever! We love you Chancey boy!