by Mary
We have recently made the painful decision of having our 12 yr old blk lab mix 'put
to sleep'....as we truly believed she was
starting to really suffer. She had a fast growing massive tumor on her spleen of which
the prognosis did not appear well. Our
whole family was w/her at the vet's office where she gazed deeply into my eyes as the
vet inserted the needle into her catheter. I
hugged her & w/amazement she slipped into unconsciousness w/ease. I am still
consumed w/ heartache as it has only been a
few days since we lost our dear family member. The house is so quiet & husband
wants to allow ourselves some 'greiving time'
before acquiring another dog companion.....Toody was adopted almost 4 yrs ago at
her age of 8 at our area animal shelter.
Bringing her home was one of the happiest days of my life (& I like to think HERS,
as well..) No one was interested in this
large, 8 yr old gal at the shelter & I fear what would have happened to her had we
not stuck out our necks. She loved all
people & tolerated cats well who would rub against her, accepting her. She was the
most mellow dog, hardly barked except if
she encountered another dog. She never did anything to deserve the large tumor that
took over her life as we found out a month
ago. I am not ashamed to say I spilled more tears coming home from the vet that day
w/such news than I did for relatives who
passed away in my life. There is no one on this earth who can tell me animals DON'T
go to heavon. Their abuse/neglect is so
immense my heart breaks over & over when I read of the cruelty bestowed on
them..I noticed my affection/sympathies for
animals early in my life as a child when I retrieved injured sparrows who later died
that neighborhood boys (bullies) legitamately
shot in front of our house. I have often felt sorry for dogs planted in the back yard in
kennels or on leads (24-7) no matter
where I lived...living in rented places where I was not allowed to have a dog but
home owning neighbor had one or more who
did not appreciate...all animal lovers, & esp dog lovers know of what I
speak...Toody, may you rest in peace....I will treasure
your memory, our trips to Vermont w/you sitting up in front seat w/husband & our
romps on trails. I trust I will see you again
along w/my other animal friends I held dear. You were all the living proof I needed
that THE MORE I KNOW PEOPLE THE
MORE I LOVE MY DOG!!! If all humans had the forgiving nature, acceptance,
simple mindedness of dogs this world would
be a better place....myself included.