A Sweet Goodbye for My Dear Dog
Our 15-year-old dog had to be euthanized a couple of weeks ago. It’s painful even to write it. However, the point of this piece is something I want other dog owners to know that really changed the tone of our precious companion’s last few moments. And tell all of your dog owning friend’s about it too.
We’d saved Aladar for an extra three months, as I wrote previously, by giving him the diet recommended for fecal incontinence (inability to hold poop until they get outdoors).
That extra three months was wonderful—the warmth of summer making it easy to walk him daily and give him plenty of time outdoors to deliver his one perfect poop of the day…proudly presented at the far side of the yard, next to “the enemy’s fence”—neighbor dog who engaged in barking contests, which they both enjoyed thoroughly.
But all things come to their end. The diet continued to work though we found, toward the end, that any straying from perfect wasn’t okay. However, Aladar’s back legs had become weak and trembly enough of the time that he was feeling frustration with that. His ability to walk and stay standing while eating…even with the aid of his dish on a stair step…was clearly diminishing also his entry into the car had more often been awkward.
I made a euthanasia appointment for a week later, but hubby couldn’t stand the wait, stayed home from work, and made an appointment for the same day. It took us all by surprise—not a bad thing, considering.
Of course, that morning, Aladar’s poop was perfect, his gait steady, and his last jump into the back seat as graceful as the athlete he’d always been. Of course they were.
At the vet’s, I held it together for the dog while hubby bawled into his hands. The vet came in with the sedation. Miserably we listened to the process. But, her last words caught us entirely by surprise. “How would you like to give him some chocolate?” she asked. “After all, he can have it now…and they all want it.”
With a shocked laugh, I said, “Well…yeah. Of course!” What a great idea! No other vet had ever suggested this, and I’ve never heard of anyone being asked this question before.
The whole mood in the room altered as we eagerly gave eight little Hershey snack bars to Aladar who suddenly found that this day was going a lot better than it had been a few seconds earlier. As the sedation took effect, he sunk to the blanket on the floor, chomping one last delicious forbidden bite. The change in the tenor of these moments was, no doubt responsible for the ease of his departure…no last minute anxiety or tension. Blessedly peaceful. Tell your friends who own dogs. Everyone should get a moment of relief like this at a time like that. (Thank you, Dr. Lisa at the Aurora Veterinary Clinic for your brilliant idea!)
Ariele Huff is a Seattle writer and writing instructor, and rewardingly, a pet owner.
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