Sep 01 2008
Farewell to Best Friend
Our faithful companion for the past thirteen years, our beloved Pouie, left us forever this past week.
He has been such an important, an integral part of our family for so long, that it is very difficult to imagine this household without his presence. He was quiet, stoic, never complained, always a guardian, and simply a wonderful pet.
There are so many family adventures and fond memories that we shared with him. As he aged we saw the slow deterioration in his mobility, we could hear it in his bark. We knew the day was coming, but we found it absolutely impossible to plan for it. One simply cannot make an appointment for a day in the future when you will have to put down a pet. We just hoped it could happen naturally. As it was, certain events unfolded which made it obvious that he could not continue to struggle with daily living any longer, and we had to make that horrible decision over life and death. To have the power of life and death is not a simple fact. We like to imagine that we are somehow being merciful, as we would imagine a merciful God to be…but there is no easy answer to life and death decisions. We say that we would not want to have extra-ordinary methods used upon ourselves to keep us alive when there was no longer any hope of recovery. We say that we would not want to become a burden to our families in our own demise. We say that…and we often execute “do not resuscitate” living wills to remove the decision-making responsibilities from our loved ones. Yet, when faced with the decision in letting a pet go, to take the pet to a veterinary clinic and sit with him while he is slowly put to sleep…to listen to his last breaths…to watch as his heart stops beating…is heart-wrenching. To see the pain in my wife’s face, to feel her tremble as I hold her. So painful. We loved this pet so much…like we love our children. Perhaps it is not the same…but that doesn’t lessen the pain in this moment…not a bit.
Farewell, Poumba Chino Aboo. We love you.
Farewell beautiful puppy! You were well loved.
So sorry for the loss of your family pet. A good looking dog, very similar to one up the street that likes to stop at our front gate and see all the cats in our yard.