While my friends were on their pre-marital retreat and I was still dogless, I had the opportunity to spend a weekend with her. It is where I learned how nonstop annoying they can be when you tell them they can't get into bed with you....and how much of a bed hog they can be when you finally relent.
Once I got Hooch and the weekly 'Friends' watching became a foursome, they were always the best of friends as you can tell in the picture that was taken during their first meeting:
The last time I saw her was early in October when Big A and I spent time over at their house to watch the first Red Wing NHL game of the season. She had suffered a bit from arthritis for almost as long as I knew her but she seemed a bit slower than usual and I remember feeling the lumps on her and hoping that they were nothing but the fatty ones like the few that Hooch has. Her stump of a tail still wagged nonstop when she saw me though as she went from person to person for pets before finally settling down next to me on the floor.
After her vet visit on Friday where the bone cancer was discovered, my friend spent the night with Lilly in the living room. Like most dogs, Lilly never complained when the arthritis was bothering her or during her bout with parvo as a puppy but all night long that night, she cried. My friend and her husband made the decision to call the vet Saturday morning and it was done later that day at their home. My friend said that she didn't want to be around for the actual deed but Lilly kept looking at her whenever she tried to leave so she was with her which I'm glad of as I know I will have to be when it's Hooch's turn.
I think I'm slowly catching on to Big A's belief that it's better to have never loved at all than to have loved and lost.
5 comments:
What year was that photo shot, '69?
I'm sorry about your friend's dog... I remmeber rubbing my cat's head when the vet put her down, it was one of the most painful things I've done.
I think I still would rather know love and lost it. At least that way you still have a lot of good memories to remember.
Um...Sage...you aren't suppose to know those things like "69". Only Ed. :-)
I'm almost embarrassed to admit this but when I read Sage's comment, I went back to look at the picture to see what about it related to 1969. It took me a minute before I caught the drift. My gutter oriented mind must really be slipping these days.
Or you've been married way too long. :-)
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