I’ve only had a day to prepare myself for this, and it was not enough. No amount of time or preparation will ever be enough when the time comes to put your dog down. A week ago you were still so full of life and energy, even though you were old for a dog and lived well beyond your expectancy of 10 years. You were so close to your 14th birthday…just a couple weeks away. Your characteristic brown patches have all turned white..
I should have known that this day would come, but who thinks about these kind of things? I just assume that you will always be there when I come home, happy to see us and lick and jump all over us. You make me realize that I take a lot of things for granted in my life.
Seeing you come home yesterday..struggling to walk, to even lift your head up..and even turning down a piece of chicken.. I couldn’t accept it and knew it wouldn’t be long before we’d have to say bye to you. It hurt to see you struggle to keep yourself in a standing position and to expend all that energy just to take a breath. It hurt even more when my dad had to carry you into the house and lay you down on your mat.
Do you remember the first time you swallowed a rock? You probably took your name literally.. so much that you did it twice. It amazes me that you went through two surgeries to remove a rock from your stomach and yet you still lived out such a full life. Everyone at SPCA knows you and they loved you as well. All those cherries in our yard, you always had your first pick of them. Every time it snowed and the night was quiet, I would strap on my gear and take you for a long walk through the neighbourhood. You always did enjoy the snow, romping around and digging your nose in. I promise your favorite ball will go with you.
We had hope this morning, that you were treatable, that things would turn around and you would soon be playing and barking again happily.. but deep down inside I knew those thoughts were childish and futile, that those days were long gone. To have our family break down and cry for you, and to see the tears in your eyes as we said a final goodbye…I’m so sorry…..I could have treated you better, took you out for walks more often, played with you more often, hugged you more often…. You were loyal and such a loved dog….and I’ll miss you so much.
Rocky Wu
June 30th 1996 – May 11th 2010
