Our dearest friends are going through one of the hardest things I can imagine: not just losing your best canine friend, but also having had to make the decision of when it was best for him to go. And our hearts are with them.
Sailor was an amazingly sweet and beautiful dog, especially because it was clear he had such a hard life before he was lucky enough to be adopted by, and Dena and Russell were lucky enough to find him six years ago.
Two years ago, their vet told them the unimaginable: that Sailor was very sick and probably only had weeks or months to live. And yet, two years later he was still here in body and spirit . But it was clear he was incredibly frail, his quality of life was gone, and almost all of things he enjoyed in life were in the past. And Dena and Russell had to decide to say goodbye out of love and compassion. He had blossomed and loved living with them, but it was so clear that they made the right decision at the right time.
I am so grateful to them and him to have been included in his life, and that we got to see him happy after his move north and recently to say goodbye.
Some of the sweet and funny ways I will always remember Sailor:
Breathing heavily from playing fetch and fighting off sleepy eyes...
On alert for strange human behavior...
Doleful...
And sleeping soundly on the floor (and on the sofa, and on the bed...)
Here, here to Sailor! He liked to bark when he heard me at the door (stranger danger!) when I would come to let him out when his parents had a late night engagement, but was always full of love and affection when he saw that it was me. I remember how he'd arch and curl his back when you found that sweet itchy spot on his rear. He will be remembered dearly.
ReplyDeleteI could never forget that arch and curl--I remember the first time I found that spot, it sent him to such a place, that I momentarily...got embarrassed (you know me :-P )
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