And she's gone.

My college writing teacher would not be pleased as to how poorly this is written, but I know that a lot of you love her too, and I wanted to let you know how everything went.

I took a half day off of work today. Denali's new "owners" had told me that they were leaving MT at 4am and I estimated that they'd take until late afternoon to get to Denali. My husband picked me up at work around lunch and we drove off.

On our way down we noticed that there were cops on all the bridges in Seattle, then we noticed a ton of traffic on I-5 north, and then NOTHING. It was odd. Then the first cop car went by, then another, then another. As we were driving in South Seattle, past Boeing Field we noticed Air Force One, just as we noticed the President's Motorcade driving past. It was pretty amazing. I was really happy that we were not trying to go north.

About ten minutes after we saw the motorcade, I got a call that they were 43 miles away (as were we.) I had a slight pannick attack. I had plans on spending the afternoon with her, grooming her, and just loving on her. It made me sad that we were not going to be able to do that. I stopped at the feed store and bought her some more treats, a big bucket of supplements, and some psyllium (I haven't given it to her yet this year.) I also picked up a bail of hay to send with her. We got to the barn and they were already there.

I was so nervous meeting them. I've loved talking to him on the phone, and I just hopped that they were half as nice in person as they were on the phone. They were even better. When we got out of the truck I noticed they were not in their (amazing) truck. Then I noticed they found Denali and she was doing her best "LOVE ME" face. We chatted for a bit about her and then I started to unload her stuff. I'm sure they think I'm totally nuts (I mentioned it a few times.) I gave them her Heavy Weight blanket, her other heavy weight blanket, her midweight blanket, her sheet, and cooler. I also packed up all her first aid kit stuff, her supplements, her halter, and her BAGS of treats. One large bag, two bins, and a box. I decided that I just wanted her to take her stuff with her. It made me feel better.

She was getting upset that she was NOT the center of attention and kept running in and out of her paddock. Eventually we decided that they should get on the road. I walked out to her paddock and put her halter on, gave her a big hug, and then lead her to the trailer. I told her she was onto a new journey, but that I promised I'd see her again. Not the way I planned to say goodbye, but also probably better than me sitting around for hours worrying. I can't wait to see her again.

They had another horse with them that has some French name that sounds like John Deer. I was glad that Denali didn't need to haul by herself. She had the two back stalls in the trailer, and she hopped right in, like a good girl. I was a huge, roomy area, and they decided to haul her loose so she can move if she needs to. Once she was loaded we talked for about twenty more minutes. During that time I know I could have walked back to the trailer and talked to Denali, but I couldn't. She's fine in a trailer if you ignore her, but if she is getting attention she gets antsy. I just didn't want to upset her. I wish I had a better chance of saying good bye.

I'm sad. I'm happy. I don't know how I feel. I feel bad that she doesn't understand what's happening, and that she won't see me for a while. I hope she understands, and her new home is so great that she doesn't even care about not seeing me. I just don't ever want her to be hungry again. That's my biggest fear after the last time I didn't see her for months.

Her new people are amazing. I really don't know how we lucked out that such great people found us. I had baked them brownies and bought them some snacks at Whole Foods as a little road trip snackage. About two minutes after they pulled out, they called me to tell me how delicious the brownies were. It made me smile. I really like them.

We stopped for dinner about 5 miles from the barn and I saw the trailer pull out of town with Ms. Denali and that's the last time I saw her. She's probably somewhere in Eastern WA now, or Idaho. It was a weird feeling to see your horse go driving past.

I miss my mare. I'm sad, but I did this because they can give her a life that I can't. Think good thoughts for her tonight and the next few days! I'll post an update as soon as I hear how she did.

Photo of me taking a photo.

My beautiful girl!

Denali's new friend, "John Deer"