In Loving Memory....

The past two days have been incredibly hard culminating in the worst part yesterday.  We had to put down one of our dogs.  It was such a heartbreaking decision.  He had stopped eating and had dropped about a forth of his body weight.  They thought it was due to a urinary track infection, and put him on antibiotics.  He perked up for about 2 days and then stopped eating anything; only taking water.  So we took him back to the vet.  We also made them aware that we noticed his left side was distended.  They did an ultra-sound and came back with liver cancer which had metastasized to his kidneys.  The vet told me there was no positive outcome here and so after bringing him home to have a last evening being loved and spoiled by his family; he was laid to rest in my arms.   Oh but I loved that dog!

Can I tell you about Wolly?

 We adopted him 9 yeas ago from the Humane Society.  I had gone with my sister and we both fell in love with him.  She already had a little beagle dog and so the idea of our family getting one too was awesome. He was a Beagle/ Basset mix.   She stood guard over his cage until I could go up front and tell them of my desire to get him.  Good thing too because there was an interested family right behind us.  Originally he was to be a gift for my daughters 15th birthday.  She was having a hard time and we thought he might help.  He was good for her and followed her everywhere.  It was while following her that he got nailed by a truck.  We were lucky.  He only had a dislocated hip.  The veterinary staff were amazed at how stoic he was.  They were able to reset his hip without anesthesia and he never snapped at them; not once.  It cost us a small fortune, but he was right as rain,  His only complication was arthritis later in life.  Within about 3-4 months he had a seizure and was diagnosed with Epilepsy.  He has been on meds ever since to control his seizures.  The other dogs know the sound of his pill bottle and, like Pavlov's dog, will come running to get a treat whenever Wolly was getting his "Treat".  Because of his medical issues, he stayed with us after Diva moved out.  She couldn't afford the meds and labs that went with keeping him.
  I have so many memories of him....  He would smile at you; not the panting "He looks like he's smiling" smile, but a smile using only the front of his mouth.  He would also talk back to me if he was in trouble.  Not making any sounds, just the moving of his mouth like a teenager talking under their breath.  There was the infamous Nerf cat safari.  We'll talk about that another post. 

We have three dogs (That's Wolly on the right) and one of them is Jesse (left), a female coon dog/beagle mix.  That's Mona in the middle.  Wolly and Jesse acted like an old married couple.  If Wolly got out of the gate and Jesse didn't, she would nag him from the front door all the way to his kennel once he returned.  He would just hang his head and endure until he got to his kennel.  When he got to the age of 9-10 years, I would periodically let him out the back door to go run in the woods.  He was older and I wanted him to have that chance while he could use it.  I am glad I did.  Sometimes he would walk around the house and past the front gate where Jesse was outside and then she could see him.  Drove her crazy.  Definitely a "Neener Neener" moment for him.  Of my three dogs, Wolly was the only one I felt competent enough to be outside of the gate.  I would let him out the back door while I was in the garden and within thirty minutes I would see him laying at the edge of the garden watching me and enjoying the spring breeze. 
My constant companion for the past 9 years; he followed me everywhere.  Many times My husband and I would be lying on the bed watching TV and I would get up to go check dinner or something.  I would inadvertently step on Wolly due to the fact that he had tucked himself under my side of the bed.  Even at his sickest, he would struggle to get up to follow me where ever I was headed.  Finally Knight and I would pick him up and carry him where ever I was going next. 

Don't get me wrong, I love Jesse and Mona, But Wolly was my baby.  One of the hardest things to face these last few days has been the absence of him by my side.  He is in every part of this house; from the absence of his tap, tap, tap as he made his way across the floor (he favored his previously dislocated hip), how he would sit in the kitchen watching me cook in the hopes I would toss him something to eat.  He would sit at my feet while I ate dinner and place one paw on my leg to get my attention.  He could make his eyes so big...well I just had to give him something off my plate!

I could go on and on..... I love him.  I miss him.  It is that easy. There is no way he can be replaced and the void is impossible to fill.  I take comfort in the fact that I will see him again.  Please save your breath if you are thinking dogs don't go to heaven.  I don't believe that.  I realize Christ didn't die for pets, but then again, maybe that was because He didn't have to.