Dog

Last spring I updated my journal with some concerns about one of the two dogs my parents own. At that time I still lived at their place and I was partly repsonsible for the Labrador Retrievers. I was happy to be repsonsible too, I love them with all my heart. One of the best things about going to my parents' place is seeing those dogs again.

Well, the elder of the two (he's from Belgium, the papers there stated he's 8 now, but in reality he's much older, probably 12 or 13...We've been shafted, but that's of no concern now) has been having problems with relieving himself for over a year now. He's clearly dementing and regularly wets the place (two times a day). He also doesn't always reply when you call his name, has trouble remembering commands and gets grumpy. For a long time me and my parents have been able to deal with this. Even though he has problems walking long stretches and lying down takes quite some effort he didn't seem to be in pain of any kind. But his behaviour has been a burden that became heavier to carry every day. Right now he's even biting when you tell him to lie down (in his confusion he walks around the house all day, without a moment of rest), but he's also shaking when standing still. Probably he's experiencing pain now. Also his habit of relieving himself in house has gotten worse the past few months.

My mom has now made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon to put him to sleep for good. She's close to a nerve breakdown herself as my dad works early shifts and the dog always wets the floor when someone's waking up. In my dad's case that's around 4AM. However, he has to work so he calls on my mom to clean it up. Needless to say this is an unworkable situation.

But he's had a great life the 4 and a half years he's been with us. When we got him from Belgium he was about to be killed due to his supposed old age (they told us he was 4, which is a lie as you have read earlier). For a dog living in 'borrowed time' he's had a great time full of love. I'll be going to say goodbye tonight. I will surely miss him....Right now I'm very, very happy that I'm not living with my parents anymore, as it would have been even harder to accept had I still lived there.

Thank God the other dog is still there. She is 8 years old...I do feel bad for her though as he and she were real buddies. I wonder how she will react when her friend won't come back home anymore tomorrow...