There Is An Emptiness In Our Household

Petey the dog was found roaming the streets in Jefferson County, the county south of where we live.  This means he had been dumped --- or that he had run away from a bad situation.

A woman with the St. Louis Australian Shepherd Club took an interest in Petey, and declared that he was part Australian Shepherd.  I think this was a leap of imagination --- she told a little white lie because the Australian Shepherd Club had an excellent rescue dog program, and she wanted Petey to be in that program.

We met Petey at an adoption event at the American Kennel Club’s Museum Of The Dog.  We adopted him.  

That was 12 years ago.

Petey gained a lot of karma. I had him trained as a therapy dog, and he helped psychiatric patients connect with the world.  He was good at killing squirrels that set foot in our back yard.  He surprised us by swimming across the Meramec River chasing a deer.  He did not catch the deer, but he once presented us with a woodchuck.

As Petey grew older, his hunting days were over.  His rear legs grew weaker.  He always wanted to be near his humans, and he began struggling to manage stairways as he followed us around the house.  Petey's favorite part of the day was when we went to bed, and he could lie in front of our bedroom door, guarding us as we slept.

Old age was unkind to Petey.  He had trouble standing still over his food bowl.  He started nagging us to go to bed.  Continence became an issue.  And the rear legs could get him up stairs, but could no longer get him down stairs.

Petey’s quality of life, Petey’s happiness, and Petey’s pleasure in living were all diminished.  The fact that he could not go down stairs meant we had to carry him.  He weighed 39 pounds, and carrying him put us in danger.

Time for a decision.  

A decision made easier by knowing that we had given him 12 years of good life: we had taken Petey to San Antonio for Christmas; we had taken Petey to Vermont for a wedding; we had taken Petey to South Dakota for Harley Week in Sturgis.

I took him for a final visit to the vet.  The procedure was peaceful.  And now there is an emptiness in our household.

- . - .- . - . - . 

A wonderful song from John Hiatt, in a 3-minute video:

     So, it’s over that ridge for one last mile,

     ‘Til we’re fast asleep by the fireside

     Dreamin’ these dreams for free

     Just my dog and me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E6THLLBLE8

- . - .- . - . - . 

NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath.  Price = $11.  Send an email to ParadiseDouglas at gmail.com to find out how to purchase a copy by mail.