Putting Merlin Down

[schteeple]

It's come to the day we knew would come. Tomorrow after school we're taking Merlin to the vet to cross the Rainbow Bridge. He's been a good dog, but a tortured soul for the whole time he's lived with us. In one way of looking at it, he had six more years with us than he would have had at the kennel. (He was on the destroy list once he broke his leg and was no longer a show dog.) He is a loving dog who wants nothing more than to be petted on his terms and sleep on the couch. He has been in poor health before, and changing his food helped, but he's snarling at Kumo, at Julian, at Bill and me when we try to get him to go out, and he's peeing on the floor daily now, like he can't hold it. We're not doing tests because the results wouldn't matter. They wouldn't change what we're going to do.

I feel awful, but know that he will be happier. Maybe his spirit will finally be at peace.