My old dog Scout is on his last legs. We thought he might not make it through the day yesterday, but he rallied a bit. Kind of like a bouncing ball now; each bounce is a little lower than the one before. Tonight, he didn't want to go for a walk when I took the other pups out.
Scout, who used to lope like a marathon runner, loose-limbed and quick as a wolf. Who once ran a hundred yards across a field and nearly caught a blue heron who saw him coming half way there, leaping eight feet into the air and just missing the bird.
He's old for a German Shepherd, fourteen and some, and that's a couple years past the average. He can barely move, and isn't eating or drinking much. At some point, the quality of his life will drop too far, and we'll have to send him on his way. We are talking days.
It's the nature of things, but it breaks your heart even knowing that.
4 comments:
I'm sorry to hear that, I liked Scout alot. As fanatically demanding of attention as Jude was when I came over, Scout, in contrast, made no noise at all, just kind of meandered in & stuck his nose in my face...Kind of like "What's all the fuss? Is there any chocolate?" Also, I have a thing for wolves and wolf-like doggies.
I pray that Scout is recieved well in the halls of those who served thier masters faithfully.
:(
I had to put down a dog of mine a couple of years ago. I was in the basement at about 1 am and it dawned on me that for the last hour or so I'd been hearing strange noises upstairs. I went up there and there was my old bearded collie writhing in obvious terrible pain at the foot of the upstairs, panting and in obvious agony. He could walk, he just couldn't hold himself upright. It was like he couldn't get enough air.
The vets weren't open that late so it fell to me to do what needed to be done.
You clean up after them when they're puppies, serve and feed them for their whole lives, and then you have to usher them out again. It's a strange relationship we have with them and it makes you wonder what they did for us in the distant past that makes us so indebted that we wait on them hand and foot. Maybe it's the chinese responsibility thing. Who knows.
It's kind of a parasitic relationship in a way if you think about it. We think they're cute because they have neotonic heads, so we raise and feed them and spend a non-trivial portion of our time dealing with them in various ways.
"It's a strange relationship we have with them and it makes you wonder what they did for us in the distant past that makes us so indebted that we wait on them hand and foot. Maybe it's the chinese responsibility thing. Who knows."
Not strange to me at all -- dogs are social creatures, and when you become the leader of their pack, you get a deep connection -- one better than I have with most people.
You can go out to collect the mail, and when you come back, the dog will be thrilled to see you, every time.
For me, I get more than I give.
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