I spent 5 hours last night at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic on Yonge Street for poor wee Elmo. He had a problem of which details are unimportant; enough to say, he's okay although ripping mad at me for the indignities performed on him.
I watched a family wracked with grief as they were told their animal had to be put down.
How can I describe how it feels to loose an animal? Our pets love you unconditionally, root for you when you're happy, console you when you are sad and are happy to see you every moment of every day.
When we inherited Tommy Bower in the mid-90's, he was a badly abused, cowering shadow of an animal. It was my first pet as an adult and I loved that dog with all my heart. He was dignified, obedient and his only character defect was he hated squirrels and was determined to catch one. He was fast, too. There were moments when I thought, "he's going to get that squirrel" but he never did-not sure if he would have known what to do if he actually caught one. I found it difficult to ever be angry with him, even when he stole a hot dog off the coffee table once. The tell-tale sign was the mustard all over his white fur. Whatever had happened to him as a puppy would make him quiver in fright at a raised voice or the sight of a broom. I never ever want to think about what abuse he may have suffered; sufficient to say, I hope the next 10 years of his life were filled with love and affection.
When we made the decision to put Tommy down, it was with a heavy heart. He had suffered a stroke as a result of congenital heart disease. Rob said after he was pleased to see Tommy had take one last nip at the vet, who he didn't like.
What our animals bring to us is unconditional love, companionship and joy. Sometimes it's our own grief that keep them in our lives for longer than is humane to them. I grieved for a year and a half before I could bring myself to think about another dog. Elmo is different because he doesn't come with any abuse baggage; I hope he forgives me for last night....you should see the looks I'm getting.
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