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Now that I can talk about it without tearing up.
About three weeks ago we said a permanent goodbye to our dog, Laddie. We could only estimate his age, since we got him from a shelter. They guessed he was five then, which would make him eleven or twelve now. Picked up as a stray in Ohio, along a country road, no tag or chip. Click image to enlarge...
He was a great dog and we both became very attached to him, as did he to us. When the day came that he no longer wanted to eat, though, we knew things had gone bad. Our vet found on ultrasound that he had tumors in his spleen and liver. He was already losing control of his hind legs at times, and we had seen that before and knew it wouldn't be better. It was decided to spare him the discomfort and embarrassment that would have followed for a while until he starved or suffered an internal rupture.
It was too soon. I had hoped he would be with us longer, but that wasn't to be. We moped around gloomily for nearly two weeks before admitting that we just had to adopt another dog. That story is for the next entry.
If there really is a Rainbow Bridge, as I told the vet, Gary and I will be smothered in dogs when we get there. The two of us together have had nine of them over the last 40 years. I had three of my own before that. I can still feel Laddie's soft fur when I think of him.
About three weeks ago we said a permanent goodbye to our dog, Laddie. We could only estimate his age, since we got him from a shelter. They guessed he was five then, which would make him eleven or twelve now. Picked up as a stray in Ohio, along a country road, no tag or chip. Click image to enlarge...
He was a great dog and we both became very attached to him, as did he to us. When the day came that he no longer wanted to eat, though, we knew things had gone bad. Our vet found on ultrasound that he had tumors in his spleen and liver. He was already losing control of his hind legs at times, and we had seen that before and knew it wouldn't be better. It was decided to spare him the discomfort and embarrassment that would have followed for a while until he starved or suffered an internal rupture.
It was too soon. I had hoped he would be with us longer, but that wasn't to be. We moped around gloomily for nearly two weeks before admitting that we just had to adopt another dog. That story is for the next entry.
If there really is a Rainbow Bridge, as I told the vet, Gary and I will be smothered in dogs when we get there. The two of us together have had nine of them over the last 40 years. I had three of my own before that. I can still feel Laddie's soft fur when I think of him.
