No Bones About It

Just the other afternoon, a man whose acquaintance I have made through a web site he runs and who I have come to know through the occasional exchange of e-mails and other correspondence although I shall likely never meet face-to-face since he lives in Montana, shared something on his web site so beautiful and so poignant that it moved me. 

Stuart's web site, CU At the Game (For The Informed CU Fan), is usually CU Buffaloes-centric.  Friday afternoon, however, Stuart shared with the world a heartfelt, moving essay he entitled, "The Story of Tori".  I cannot commend it heartily enough to your attention.  

What he wrote resonated with me because it was less than three years ago, on March 3, 2018, Margaret and I had to put down Rosalita, our beloved Shetland Sheepdog.  I make no secret of the fact that I prefer the company of dogs to the company of humans.  I make no apology for it either.  I searched and found what I wrote the very next day.  It lacks Stuart's eloquence but it came for a similar place, which is the broken heart of a human who had been reduced to a blubbering heap by the death of his faithful canine companion. 

I called what I wrote - through tears if memory serves - on March 4, 2018: 

A Promise Kept   

The Missus and I bade farewell to our sweet, insane Rosalita yesterday. Shortly after the first of the year, her annual checkup with the vet revealed kidney failure.  We were told she might have less than a month or she might have as much as two years.  Upon being told that terrible news we made a promise to each other - and to Rosie - that we would do all we could for her to keep her well and to keep her comfortable but, also, we would not make her endure any undue suffering for our benefit. In other words, we would not be selfish. Margaret took her to the vet on Friday. Rosie had been struggling the past few days and when the vet ran some tests, our worst fears were confirmed. She was in fact failing badly. It was not fair to prolong her discomfort. 

Hers had been a good life these last ten and one-half years.  I hope it was anyway.  I know she added immeasurable joy and quality to mine and to ours. We would not and could not compromise its quality as she reached its end solely because saying goodbye to her would break our hearts. 

We kept our promise...

Rosalita 

...it was the very least we could do. 

And it broke our hearts.  As we knew it would. 

Sleep well, sweetheart. 

_________________________________________________________

Three weeks after saying goodbye to Rosie, we welcomed Sam into our home. She was only a ten-week-old puppy when we adopted her from Home For Good Dogs Rescue in Berkeley Heights.  We were told that she would grow to be "25-30 pounds".  She has in fact grown to be sixty-one pounds of hound dog hellfire and enthusiasm.  She did not take Rosie's place for the two - in every conceivable way - bear little resemblance to one another.  She has, however, done Rosie proud.  She has filled the void left in the hearts of Rosie's beloved humans by her death... 

Sam I Am - October 2020

...which role we hope Sam I Am has years and years left to perform. 

-AK