Letting go
I have lived the last 58-years of my life as a reluctant “pet owner”.
When I was a kid, my Dad, like everyone else in the neighborhood, kept rabbit-hunting beagles. I was tasked with feeding the dog and even spent some early fall evenings letting “old Jack” run a few rabbits for practice. I never did learn why my Dad gave that dog and me the same nickname.
I found “Jack” dead one winter morning, and without much emotion I went about the task of disposing of the carcass.
I also remember a small collie that belonged to my older sister. That dog got loose one day and met its end on the highway. My sister was devastated, and the family moved on.
We got a brown and white Chihuahua named “Moochie.” [Remember Spin and Marty] That was our first “house dog” One day Moochie went out to do “his business” and never returned. My mother called the grade school and got me out of class to come home and help search the neighborhood. No luck.
Life changes when you get older, get married, and have children and they need a “topic” for grade school essays. Pets make perfect subject matter Pet care also teaches children how to be responsible.
During our daughters’ grade school years, we had dozens of cats and two outside dogs. My pre-school daughters liked a young co-worker of mine named Paul, so the first several cats were named “Paul Cat.” Later, we also had one enormous tomcat named “Tigger”. The dogs were both named “Buffer”.
Living near a busy Raystown Lake access highway doomed our cats and dogs. All were accident victims, and I was on “burial detail” more times than I can count.
Nearly nineteen years ago, I got a call from my wife and daughters to ask me if they could buy a new puppy. I said “no way”; but my girls pestered till Ginger moved in with us that night, and she became part of the family.
Ginger was a Cockapoo, a mixed breed with equal parts of Cocker Spaniel and Poodle. At times, she displayed the bad habits of both breeds, but we tended to overlook her shortcomings.
Ginger’s claim to fame was she never barked. The only time I ever heard a sound come out of that dog was when she was startled, and then she would yip once or twice. “No barking” was great.
Our daughters grew up, moved on, moved out, and Ginger stayed with my wife and I of course. For many years, the three of us were comfortable with each other.
A family pet does not live forever, and the aging process takes its toll on your pets. Nearly blind, deaf, arthritic, and sleeping in a peaceful heap for most of everyday, Ginger was a “shell” of what she once was, and needed help getting in and out of the house. This reluctant pet owner spent the last two months refusing to do the right thing. With my wife’s help, I finally mustered the courage to act and called the Humane Society.
They said that Ginger was so close to the end of her life and so weak that the medication only took a few minutes to work.
I never wanted that puppy to begin with, but she was part of our family for nearly 19-years. Ginger’s loving ways made it really difficult for me to let her go. Today was a sad day for sure!
Proverbs 12:10 -A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
This is the way we will remember our faithful pet.