Buttons, Son&Heir’s medium-sized “some kind of herding dog/beagle mix” who, for most of his life weighed in at between 45 and 50 very lean pounds, at the ripe old age of seventeen(ish), finally “slipped the surly bonds of earth” yesterday, about noon.
Goodbye, buddy.
(Almost always a “happy dog” he appears to be squinting here because he is. Sun in his eyes and all that. 🙂 Photo taken about four years ago, just a couple of months after he nearly died from an infection–caught just in time to be turned around with very aggressive anti-biotic treatment.)
Although Buttons much preferred outdoor life–and was an exclusively outdoor dog for almost all the years he was with us, after we got him from his previous owners at age 2.5 yrs or so (they had kept him “crated” for about 23 hours/day. Should have been shot). This winter, he spent most of his time indoors, though–especially when temps were below freezing. The sudden slide downhill in the past couple of weeks–most of it in the last couple of days was not easy to watch. The vet agreed with me that he was at the end of the road, and that was that.
Yes, I cried a tad. So sue me for it.
Leashes and treats have already been doled out to The Good Neighbors for their dogs. I’m still waiting to see if they want a ton of dog food–canned and dry. Buttons was a sharing kinda guy. 🙂
I critizie no man for crying over any loss, especially over the loss of a pet.
Thanks, m-m.
As a dog lover, let me first say thank you for getting Buttons out of the crate and giving him a great, long, life. You will be rewarded for that.
Sorry for your loss. I have 5 dogs if you want one.
Thanks Mel, but I think we’re going to hold off a bit. Both of Son&Heir’s dogs pssed away within the last year (Leo was only 13.5 years old, but he was also a much larger dog–about twice Buttons’ size and as is typical of large dogs, he had a shorter life. But more than 13 years for a large Lab/Shepherd mix was pretty good, and he went pretty peacefully, apparently in his sleep, in his fav “den” outdoors last summer. Wildflowers adorn his resting place (although I may transplant some daffodils there, too. It’s not as though we didn’y have lots of ’em. :-))
Sorry that you’re grieving the loss of an old friend. Folks who don’t have dogs/cats miss out on some of the most choice moments life has to offer. They do get into our hearts.
You never realize how much they get in your heart until they are gone. Condolences on your loss. Good people and good animals belong together.
Sincere and heartfelt condolences to you, Son & Heir and the rest of the family. I’m in complete agreement with TF Stern on this one – those who don’t have them can’t understand, but cats and dogs become more important than the sum of their parts. Or, in the case of dogs…their pants.
We lost a much-beloved cat on Valentine’s Day that The Random Spouse and I picked out together while dating and shared custody of until our marriage (talk about a confused cat…he had two homes and went between them). There wasn’t a dry eye in the family the day he died. Nor was there guilt about it. Nor should there be.
Thanks, RY and Nicole. Stressful week all around, here at twc, what with Buttons’ demise, my parents visiting (good stress, even welcome stress, but stress nonetheless) and Lovely Daughter’s wedding, I’m just a tad punch drunk at the moment. Rehearsal was tonight, and while I had a good time afterwards at the rehearsal dinner, visiting with new friends–inlaws-to-be–I’m sitting here after midnight unable to relax enough for sleep.
Oh, well. 🙂
Sorry to hear that. They are part of the family, so it’s always a terrible loss.
Thanks, Woody.