Yesterday, Buddy Best Dog got to lick his person’s face for as long as he wanted to. No hands pushing his mouth away and only the mildest of complaints about liver-treat breath.
And then we said good-bye.
Buddy Best Dog was indomitable. Somewhere around the middle of his life, he lost his original home and a leg, maybe from a fall out of a moving pickup truck. He was rescued but the leg couldn’t be saved.
But losing a leg didn’t stop Buddy, and it didn’t change his spirit either. He was a typical Lab, all happy goof. He loved the beach, he loved hiking, he loved Frisbee. He loved other dogs — he was the most sociable dog I’ve ever met, always needing to say a friendly hello to any passing dog on the beach and willing to bounce as far as he had to to make that possible. Long after the point where walking was a challenge, he’d make the effort if there was another dog to sniff.
And he loved his people. Yesterday, as it became painfully clear that his failing body was becoming a prison for that indomitable spirit, we promised him that Greg was waiting for him and would be so, so happy to see him. I believe that with all my heart.
But, oh, he will be missed here.
Good-bye, Buddy Best Dog. May your next life be filled with treats and toys and all the love.
Barbara said:
Ohh, Wendy, Im so sorry for you and S.
wyndes said:
It was a hard day. Thank you for the sympathy!
tehachap said:
Always so very hard to say goodbye to our furry family members — but it hurts more to see them in pain. You did the right thing… blessings and healing to you and S.
wyndes said:
Thanks! And yes, that was exactly the point Suzanne faced, where the only thing harder than letting him go would have been letting him suffer more.
Judy said:
Sad. So sorry for your loss.
wyndes said:
Thank you!
Ric said:
You will meet again when you are both in the spirit world and he will guide you to Greg.
wyndes said:
A beautiful image, thank you!
Marilyn L. Alm said:
“WeI have sent you on a journey to a land free from pain, not because we did not love you, but because w loved you too much to ask you to stay.”
wyndes said:
Yes. So much so. I look at Z and know that day is coming, too — closer all the time. It breaks my heart, but I love her much too much to force her to fight a battle that she will inevitably lose.