We have pets for many different reasons. Some want the faithful loving pet because of their unconditional love, others the comfort of having someone with which to share the house. I am sure that other reasons exist but these are probably the reasons that more people choose to have a pet. We seldom think of the heartache of the end times when we decide to bring one of these creatures into our home.
These loving pets bring so much enjoyment into our lives, along with an element of nuisance. I had a Blue Healer named Molly, which one of my sons insisted that we get so that I would have a dog. I didn't want a dog, but somehow we were convinced that a dog was important for old people. Why they would make you get out and walk and exercise. They also did other things that messed up the yard and more than likely you would end up stepping into.
Molly was great friend, she was always up for a walk, she always wanted to play ball. The great thing about playing ball with her was that she always brought it back to be tossed one more time. It did get rather sloppy after awhile and washing my hands later was always a must. Molly loved to find squirrels and every time we walked she would check the tree for the squirrel scent. She was so good at finding them that I learned to never doubt her judgment. It was one of the most difficult days I faced when after sitting up with her and entire night and realizing that neither of us could rest because she couldn't find any comfort from the pain that the time had come to give her the rest and comfort she deserved for all of the loving time she had shared with us.
It was toward the end of Molly's life that Ninja came to stay with us. Once again the same son prevailed upon us to take this loving dog that just didn't quite see eye to eye with other dogs. Fact is she often wanted to dominate the other dogs and biting them was just a part of the domination. Molly soon learned that Ninja could be aggressive and tended to stay away from her. Ninja for all her aggressiveness never was aggressive with people. The first time we took Ninja to see our granddaughter we were concerned as the granddaughter was at the age of liking to mess with the dog. Ninja was impressive, she tolerated the tugging and pulling and when things got to bad she just ran away and kept moving until she was ready for more "fun".
When another son left for Iraq he decided to bring us a kitten that he obtained. I was quite worried that Ninja was going to kill this kitten on the very first day. This kitten, Spook, didn't know enough to be afraid of the dog and Ninja didn't quite know what was happening in her house. It took about three days of the kitten chasing the dog before the Ninja decided that maybe Spook was her baby. Since then Spook and Ninja have gotten along as well as a mother and daughter, maybe better than the human ones.
We had taken Ninja to the vet over a year ago and found that she had heart problems, then a couple of months ago she begin to gain weight as the fluid began building upon in her stomach area. About a month ago the vet told us than we should be thinking about the future and that putting her to sleep was a good option. We struggled with this for a couple of weeks until the discomfort was clearly beginning to effect Ninja.
I don't know what the normal mind does in circumstances like this, but my mind said "How can you take this loving dog into the vet and have her put to sleep? Won't you feel like you are betraying her love and devotion?" That was a tough load to handle, but reason and assurances from the vet and staff that this was not only a humane thing but the right choice allowed us to make the decision.
After she had been injected with a sedation drug which would cause her to go to sleep ,but not permanently, she heard a couple of pups whining outside the door, she struggled so hard to get to them, but the effects of the sedation drugs had begun and we somehow got her back to the blanket and to lie down. When the vet came in to inject her and stop her heart I had to leave.
No more dogs, at least for awhile! The memories of Molly and Ninja are still sweet and clear in my mind so I will savor the memories, then maybe be tempted, much later.
Thanks to those that posted condolences!
Dan and Jane
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