I knew the time would come one day, and it has. No matter how hard you try to prepare yourself it will eat you up. My best dog was a lab/span named BJ. I got him from the humane soc. as a gift for my wifes birthday some 13 years ago. At first I thought he was the dumbest animal on the face of the planet. He was hard headed and loved to piss me off to no end. As time went on he began to come around, this did take some time, but almost right away he started to protect the wife. I worked nights sometimes 22 hours at a time and knowing he was around to protect my wife was reasurring.
Now some 13 years later he is the best dog I have ever had in my life. As a hunting dog goes compared to the ones I see on the TV shows he could put most of them to shame, and show them they are just AKC registered dish hounds.To have a dog that you hunt with that can almost read your mind out in the field is rare indeed. A bond builds with a man and a great hunting dog, he becomes your best friend and a member of the family.BJ was always Kathi's dog untill the warm summer days faded and the cool nights would bring the frost and heavy dew down in the mornings, then his mind would shift to the fields. when it came time to go hunting the loyalty would change some what to me. hunting birds, rabbits or squirrels is what he lived for.
overall as a hunting dog he was great. but he also enjoyed and was good at many other things. going fishing, heading out to cut firewood, or just going with me for a ride to the farm store. he was also the best protector of my farm animals, with a kink in his tail bone from fighting off a small pack of coyoties one night that crossed the fence line and got to close to the farm. it was amazing how one dog ran out and waded into them and was able to drive them off, they never did come back after that. he killed a weasle that came to close to the hen house, rats, and many times would leap 6-7 feet in the air to try and grab a hawk that was hovering by the fowl on the farm, yes a great protector
On the farm we never had trouble with racoons, possums or ferro cats. they were ran off. And after the first time he recieved both barrels from a skunk, right in the face,every spring he would go out in the field and find one and have to play with it,he knew where the bussiness end was on those guys. Yes he also had an education with porkypines and I had to pull many a quill out of him.He would never show pain,had a cast iron belly, a heart the size of texas and was the toughest SOB I have ever seen.
Even now with his knees gone and both hips shot and limping on his left shoulder, having trouble seeing and loosing his hearing. He still has a huge heart but the tools are wore out. One last tale, when we were living in town before we got our farm, there was a hawk that would feed around the bird feeders. One day I saw him on the roof of my truck,just sitting there. I let BJ out he ran the hawk off, while he barked at the hawk about 10 sparrows came out from under my truck. I later looked out the window and saw BJ sleeping on the ground next to the bird feeder and 10 sparrows hopping around on the ground next to him, yah he was a softy too.
Now seeing him hardly able to walk and I know he is in pain,I have to do the hardest thing in my life. It brings back memories of when my grandpa was dying of cancer, i would visit him and i know at the end he wanted to tell me to end his life but he didn't say it.I can't let this old dog go that way, my only regret is that we are not on the farm any more so i could bury him on the land that he loved so much.Tommorrow i will leave with him and come home with only his collar, and will have to say goodbye to my best friend.

just some thoughts