Life University Staff Council Newsletter Volume 6 Issue 3, Summer 2015 | Page 5
Saying Goodbye
to a Furry Family Member
BY SHELIA WOOD
If you love pets, you’ll know
exactly what I am feeling as you
read this. I have five children – two young
adults and three fur babies, my Shelties. We
brought the brothers, Mason and Dixon, into
our family as 6-week-old puppies when my
human children were very young. They’ve
all grown up together. Scarlett came a few
years later when the Shelties were 5. Our
dogs are as much “family” as any twolegged member in our household, and those
who have fur family will certainly understand
how we feel.
Our Dixon had been under the weather
for a couple of days, but nothing seemed
serious; he just wasn’t quite his usual self. At
12-years-young, he and Mason are entitled
to a few slow days now and then. In fewer
than 18 hours he went from being out of
sorts to being in a serious state. He lay
essentially in one spot, refused to eat, slept
and seemed generally miserable. We feared
dog flu since it had been in the news so
much lately. An emergency vet visit would
reveal the cause. With a long, tense face, the
doc came in and told us Dixon was in peril,
in almost full renal failure. It was not the
news we had expected to hear. Apparently
this can happen quickly with older dogs.
There was a treatment, but it offered little
hope for recovery for a dog his age, and
would most likely be quite painful for our
sweet boy. He would need to stay at the
vet hospital and would likely pass during
the night. As a pet parent, you want to do
everything you can to keep your fur babies
healthy and extend their life. We had a
decision to make. We could put him through
a grueling treatment that provided little to no
chance of restoring his quality of life, or end
his suffering. Not much of a choice.
While in the exam room, our family loved on
Dixon. We talked to him, patted and stroked
the silky fur of his weary body for what
seemed like hours as we struggled with
making the decision that was right for him.
I couldn’t imagine a home without Dixon
there, but I couldn’t allow him to die alone
in a cage at the vet, or be in pain for another
minute. We had to come to terms with the
realization that it was up to us to make the
best decision for Dixon.
My daughter, with tears rolling down her
face, bent over to Dixon who laid ever so still
on the table. He had after all been “her big
boy” from the beginning, and she asked him
what he wanted: “Dixon, are you tired? Are
you ready to go, baby?” With the last bit of
energy he had, Dixon lifted his head ever so
slowly, just slightly off the table, and licked
her twice on the chin. The unconditional love
from this precious animal, and his effort
to console his family, even at the end, was
unbelievable. It was one of the sweetest
moments I have ever had the privilege to
know. His head fell with a weak thud against
the table and his gentle eyes closed. We had
our answer.
We chose what the vet called “the most
humane act of love.” It was one of the
hardest things I have ever had to do. Having
never had dogs growing up, I had never lost
a furry member of the family, nor had my
children. Now we were saying goodbye.
We watched and cried, each with our hands
on our boy, as the doctor eased Dixon to his
final rest. We wrapped him in his blanket and
watched as the doctor handled him gently
as he drifted off to sleep. Through our tears,
we drove him home one final time and laid
him in an azalea bed where he had loved to
lay in the shade – one of his favorite spots
in our backyard. While we’ve held backyard
funerals for fish, hamsters and even a 5-foot
iguana, nothing had prepared us for the
mourning that would come as we have
grieved this dog.
A small, granite marker is placed where
Dixon lays, and I visit him there every day.
Someone said to me, “It’s just a dog. You
need to stop being so upset.” But someone
else, who truly understands love and
compassion, paid me the best compliment of
all: “Dixon never knew he was a dog, he was
a people.” As is stated on his marker: “You
left paw prints on our hearts forever. We will
never forget you.”
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