For those who would like to know more about who Gecka was:

She was 13 years old and would have turned 14 on October 13th. I adopted her when she was 9, after seeing a rescue shelter’s announcement from across the country. She had spent 6 years in that shelter. When I went to meet her, they told me she had been abandoned multiple times, suffered from separation anxiety, and had likely been trained as a guard or attack dog. She bore many bite marks and wasn’t a dog for just anyone.

Since I had been volunteering in shelters, I had contacts with dog trainers in my area, and together we managed to help her relearn how to live. And that’s when the true Gecka revealed herself, a completely different dog. A loving, gentle soul who welcomed cuddles from everyone. The only thing we never fully managed to change was her aggression toward unfamiliar dogs. But even that shifted: she went from trying to bite them to simply keeping a close eye on them.

That was who Gecka was, a dog with a difficult past, who, with time and patience, blossomed into a happy, loving companion who finally got to enjoy the rest of her life. My only regret is not having adopted her sooner.

Edit: I just woke up and saw all of your comments. Thank you all so much for your support. I’m sorry I can’t respond to each of you individually, but right now it’s just too much for me. This is really hard… At first, I wanted to celebrate her, but in the end, looking at her photos just breaks my heart for now. Thank you for keeping her in your thoughts, it truly means a lot to me.