Good-bye Shadow
Gentle Readers,
A little over 3 years ago we adopted an 8 year old Great Pyrenees named Shadow. He was a charming fellow who was going to be put down because of age and depression. His previous owner had to give him up because she was living on a fixed income and was having trouble feeding both of them. His coming medical bills were what finally convinced them.
Last Friday it became clear that he was no longer going to be able to move around unassisted and there was no way to keep up his quality of life. We had a vet come and put him down. That sentence was incredibly hard to write. It just doesn't seem to capture the magnitude of what we did. Of what happened. We stayed with him while he fought to keep watch as he always did for us. Until he finally relaxed and let go and the thing that made him Shadow was gone.
He was so strong and so brave and so tough and so irreplaceable.
I'll always remember his patience, his gravitas and his sense of humour. His stubborn insistence that when you told him something, it was just a request to be considered. His guilty face when he had managed to steal some food (even if he hadn't gotten caught). His love, in particular, for peanut butter.
Hrm. Maybe writing this at work wasn't the best plan. Thank goodness it's allergy season.
Lydia was also very brave and stayed with us until the very end. I think it's the hardest thing she's ever had to do.
I would be very happy if we could go at least a few months without someone I care about losing someone who was special to them.
Original post on Dreamwidth - there are
comments there.
A little over 3 years ago we adopted an 8 year old Great Pyrenees named Shadow. He was a charming fellow who was going to be put down because of age and depression. His previous owner had to give him up because she was living on a fixed income and was having trouble feeding both of them. His coming medical bills were what finally convinced them.
Last Friday it became clear that he was no longer going to be able to move around unassisted and there was no way to keep up his quality of life. We had a vet come and put him down. That sentence was incredibly hard to write. It just doesn't seem to capture the magnitude of what we did. Of what happened. We stayed with him while he fought to keep watch as he always did for us. Until he finally relaxed and let go and the thing that made him Shadow was gone.
He was so strong and so brave and so tough and so irreplaceable.
I'll always remember his patience, his gravitas and his sense of humour. His stubborn insistence that when you told him something, it was just a request to be considered. His guilty face when he had managed to steal some food (even if he hadn't gotten caught). His love, in particular, for peanut butter.
Hrm. Maybe writing this at work wasn't the best plan. Thank goodness it's allergy season.
Lydia was also very brave and stayed with us until the very end. I think it's the hardest thing she's ever had to do.
I would be very happy if we could go at least a few months without someone I care about losing someone who was special to them.
Original post on Dreamwidth - there are
comments there.