My fiancé and I are passionate about animal rescue. In March, realizing I would be working from home for several months, we decided to bring home a new dog.

Our little, one-eyed Shih Tzu, Bonnie, was still missing her sister whom we had lost the previous summer. Plus, there would be plenty of time to acclimate a new family member.

Well, what do you know? For the first time ever, Chicago shelters were empty. The adoption of so many rescue dogs is one of the few, positive things to come from this dreadful year. It took us over a month to find her, but we eventually brought home our sweet Peachy.

Peachy was estimated to be 12- to 14-years-old and was also, likely, a Shih Tzu. She was partially blind and, unbeknownst to us, in advanced renal failure. Peachy had been found as a stray in Joliet. She clearly had lived in a home because she was potty-trained and not afraid of people.

How anyone could give up their dog, I’ll never fathom. The rescue organization told us she had been adopted out for 10 months but then was returned because of her severe allergies. We knew we would be giving her multiple eye medications, injections and a restricted diet. We were committed to making the rest of her life the best of her life.

Peachy lay in the sun all summer. She bossed us around for treats. She had weekly medicated baths and snuggled under blankies with her new sister, Bonnie.

Peachy became totally blind over the summer, and we held her tight whenever she was scared. In the fall, she became ill and was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure. After exhausting all treatment options, we couldn’t let her suffer, so in November, we let her go to meet my dad on the other side.

Dog rescue almost always ends in heartbreak, but senior dogs do something a little different. They fill up this hole in your heart you didn’t even know existed and then leave in the blink of an eye.

We will take the pain for Peachy. She lit up our lives during a brutal time. She made us laugh every single day. I had just bought Peachy a red winter coat. You could tell she felt cozy and safe in it by the way she strutted down the street. Now her coat hangs by the door, where it will stay, until we find another dog who needs a home and a little, red winter coat.