My mother gave me this book for Christmas, knowing my love for dogs. This is a great book about the love between a family and a dog. Although it is heartwrenching, it is also heartwarming and brought back many great memories for me.
For as long as I can remember, I've had a dog for a pet. My first dog, Sparky, was part collie and part german shepherd. I guess I was about 4. Sparky was my protector. He would follow me around outside and keep me away from the hill in the backyard and the steps to the back porch. He was such a gentle dog, he would lay on the front porch and let me put curlers in his hair.
Then there was Mandy when I was about 6. She was a little peekapoo and just so sweet. After an unfortunate accident, she had to be put to sleep. I can remember sitting in my sister's lap asking her "why Mandy wouldn't be coming home" over and over again. Cindy was so sweet trying to explain that Mandy was gone to heaven over and over again.
Then there was Doe, a full bred collie, just like Lassie. Doe was the best dog ever! I got her when I was about 9 and she was with me until my senior year of high school. Doe was very territorial. She was definitely my dog and everyone knew it. One of the funniest memories I have of her happened in the morning before school. My mother used to wake me up every morning to get ready for school.
One morning she and Doe were in the kitchen together and just for fun mom said to Doe, "go wake up Jennifer." Do you believe Doe came into my room and gave me a big kiss on the face to wake me up???? She was so smart! She really did know everything we were saying to her.
Another funny memory is that Doe hated (I mean, hated) cats. Doe always slept in my room, right next to my bed. One night after everyone was in bed, Doe took off out of my room, barking and racing to the other end of the house. I don't know how she knew it, but there was a cat outside getting into her food bowl! I'll never know how she knew! But I did know that she definitely hated cats! Doe was about 12 when she died. She just went peacefully in her sleep one night. Oh, it was heartbreaking...
It was several years before I really had another dog. In 1994, a beautiful sheltie came into my life, Shelby. I didn't really know what kind of dog I wanted, I just wanted a dog. I went to a breeder, who bred several different types of dogs. Shelby was the first little fuzz ball to run up to me. I picked him up and put him in the crook of my arm and he went t
o sleep. I knew he was my dog. During the same time I had Shelby, I also had a pretty little cocker spaniel named Darby.
When I first moved to Atlanta, I moved into a one bedroom apartment and didn't have room for both dogs, so my sister adopted Darby. I found out later that it was hard on Darby to be without us, mostly Shelby, but my sister took excellent care of her and also got her a little buddy, named Sammie. Darby wasn't crazy about Sammie to begin with, but eventually he won her over and they were great pals. Unfortunately, Darby developed some serious health issues and had to be put to sleep. Another heartbreaker...
Shelby and I became even closer
after Darby went to live with my sister. Shelby became my very best friend, my very best companion, my very best confidante. He and I did everything together and went everywhere together. Shelby had this funny personality...he loved all people, but didn't like other animals. He and Darby got along fine because I had both of them as puppies, but he really didn't want to have anything to do with another dog, cat, bird, anything. I believe he really thought he was a person. I met Ronnie in the year 2000 and Shelby, of course, loved him. Whenever I would go out of town, Shelby would stay with Ronnie. The two became very good friends. Ronnie had never really had an inside dog, but he decided that he needed a dog for himself. I wasn't really sure that Shelby would like that idea, but we started looking for another sheltie. In January 2001, we found Peanut. Surprisingly, Shelby really liked Peanut. Poor Peanut was scared to death. I had gotten Shelby when he was just 6 weeks old, so he had always known me. But poor little Peanut was already a year old and had been kennel raised. Her original owner was a breeder and had planned to breed her, but decided she was too small. She WAS a tiny little dog. Shelby and I took Peanut home to Ronnie and the two o
f them became inseparable.
In 2002, Ronnie and I married and combined our households. We were a little worried about Peanut and Shelby and how they would work out who was the boss of the house, but that worry was soon put to rest. Shelby took command of the house immediately, as if he said to her, I was here first anyway. And Peanut, being the little sweetie that she is, happily allowed Shelby to be the boss. We all spent many years together, having great times and making many memories. In November 2004, Shelby became sick and after many trips to several different vets, was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. Oh....I cried....
The vet put him on prednisone to help him get his strength back and to make him comfortable until we could decide what to do for him. This was so hard for me. Although I had lost other dogs in my life, this was the first dog where I was the one that had to make the decisions. The prednisone really did make Shelby feel so much better and stronger. He was able to eat, and play, and run, but unfortunately he couldn't stay on it forever. Underneath all of that medication, my beautiful Shelby was suffering and I couldn't do anything about it. We could have treated the cancer, but the treatment wasn't guaranteed to work and would probably be very hard on him. After many, many nights of crying and weighing the options, I decided and Ronnie agreed that the best thing we could do for Shelby would be to let him go.
That year, Christmas was on a Saturday. We planned to have the vet come to our house on Monday, December 27th. I made sure that Shelby got whatever he wanted up until that day. I had always been pretty lenient about giving him table food, but that last week, I actually cooked for Shelby. We had everything, ham, turkey, vegetables, eggs, bacon, and I even made him a brownie ice cream sundae. He ate and ate and ate. I thought that if I couldn't make this cancer go away, then at least I could give him all the foods that he had ever wanted to overindulge in! That last week, we stayed up late and cried each night. As the 27th approached, I just wanted the days to be longer and longer. That last night of the 26th, I slept righ
t next to Shelby and just held him and cried and told him how much I loved him. The morning of the 27th was so hard. Our vet had agreed to come to the house and she arrived right on time. I can still remember that overwhelming feeling of despair when she arrived. Wasn't there anything else we could do???
Ronnie and I held Shelby and told him how much we loved him and thanked him for all the wonderful days we'd had together. The process didn't take long. It was very peaceful, but oh, it was so hard to let him go. Later that day, we drove Shelby up to Ronnie's parents house and buried him on their property. We wrapped him in a blanket that my mother had crocheted for him and laid him on his bed.
I still think of Shelby often and wish that he could have known Joshua. I thin
k they would have had a lot of fun together.
Peanut has really taken up the role of the boss around the house, but since Joshua has started walking, Joshua is trying to push Peanut out of that role! Peanut loves Joshua. When he first came home, she would lay right next to his bassinette or crib and watch over him. She still likes to sleep in his doorway.
They make a great pair and I hope that Joshua will grow up with many wonderful memories of her.
One of the things the author, Mark Levin, points out in this book is that "in the end, we humans are the lucky ones". I believe that.
o sleep. I knew he was my dog. During the same time I had Shelby, I also had a pretty little cocker spaniel named Darby.
after Darby went to live with my sister. Shelby became my very best friend, my very best companion, my very best confidante. He and I did everything together and went everywhere together. Shelby had this funny personality...he loved all people, but didn't like other animals. He and Darby got along fine because I had both of them as puppies, but he really didn't want to have anything to do with another dog, cat, bird, anything. I believe he really thought he was a person. I met Ronnie in the year 2000 and Shelby, of course, loved him. Whenever I would go out of town, Shelby would stay with Ronnie. The two became very good friends. Ronnie had never really had an inside dog, but he decided that he needed a dog for himself. I wasn't really sure that Shelby would like that idea, but we started looking for another sheltie. In January 2001, we found Peanut. Surprisingly, Shelby really liked Peanut. Poor Peanut was scared to death. I had gotten Shelby when he was just 6 weeks old, so he had always known me. But poor little Peanut was already a year old and had been kennel raised. Her original owner was a breeder and had planned to breed her, but decided she was too small. She WAS a tiny little dog. Shelby and I took Peanut home to Ronnie and the two o
f them became inseparable.
t next to Shelby and just held him and cried and told him how much I loved him. The morning of the 27th was so hard. Our vet had agreed to come to the house and she arrived right on time. I can still remember that overwhelming feeling of despair when she arrived. Wasn't there anything else we could do???
k they would have had a lot of fun together.
They make a great pair and I hope that Joshua will grow up with many wonderful memories of her.
