Saying goodbye

About 6 years ago our first dog passed away. I say first because he was just a puppy when me and my husband picked him out. He was “our” first dog that we had together.

Bandon was a blue Chow Chow and his registered name was “Chief Running Bear”. He was our large ball of fluff. He was not much on affection, but true to his breed, very aloof. I took him thru obedience school and often took him camping with us. Bandon put up with our many other pets and the cat, Missy loved to sleep on top of him. Missy was also the same color as him and would often blend in.

Bandon lived for 16 years when he finally started showing his age. One day I was taking him to our barn when he could not get up. I thought that his stiff legs had finally given out. I also noticed that he was laying in his own bowel movement which was not a good sign. He also had that smell of “death” around him. If you have ever owned a lot of animals you know what I mean by the smell of death. I have also worked in a hospital and you could smell it there too. Any way back to my story. I then decided to move him to a comfortable place near the back door of the house. It was warm at night so he would not get a chill and I set him up on some big cushions. We did not want him in the house since his bowel movements were really starting reek. I honestly did not expect him to live thru the night.

When I went out to check him early next morning he was still alive but barely. I got my stethoscope and knelt down next to him. I petting him and told him it would be alright he could go. I was listen to his heart all the while. As soon as I said “it was alright, you can go” his heart faded away. It seemed that he had waited thru the night to see me one more time to say goodbye.