Sad Days Ahead

Oh we can see sad days ahead...It's not like we haven't seen it coming but a person is never prepared for death no matter how much you think you are.

R came in from the barn this morning with a long face. He said that Owen, our lovely 9 year old yellow lab is failing, that he hasn't eaten in two days. Now I know that doesn't seem excessive to you but for this dog to not eat for two days is serious stuff.  He has a few unexplained lumps on his body that have gotten bigger lately, we suspect cancer.

We got Owen when he was 6 weeks old from a local breeder.  We went to buy a chocolate lab that day and we did see one but when I saw this big yellow puppy and held him, he licked my face and wagged his tail and I was smitten, to be fair I did pick the chocolate puppy up too, but he stuck his head under my arm and shook like a leaf...very timid.  I took the yellow pup and named him Owen.  For R and I it was love at first sight...R had already owned a yellow lab in his younger years but I never had.  What lovely dogs. Friendly, loyal, intelligent and so loving it makes me tear up just thinking about the times I have been so melancholy and blue and have sat out in the yard to find some solace, this dog will come over and lean against my legs, rest his head in my lap and just sit with me...he's the best friend a person could have...no matter your mood he always loves you...and is so joyfull when you deign to pay attention to him.

As a puppy he hated this broom I kept outside...at every opportunity he would chew it to pieces and growl with his mouth full of cornstalks. We had Owen for nearly two weeks when the breeder called to ask if we would consider taking the chocolate puppy as well since they had not sold him and wanted to go to New Mexico for a holiday, but when they left the puppy outside with it's mother, she kept taking it into the bush and ditching it...(self weaning I guess) and thought that since the coyotes would eventually get it they might as well give it to us.  R was very eager to have the two pups...so we took him and named him Riley. There have never been two brothers from the same litter so totally different from one another. 

 The moment R let Riley out of the crate  Owen pounced on him and bit and growled... asserting his dominance I suppose... and so it has been for the past 9 years..Owen is the boss and Riley is second banana.  Owen is very protective and riley is ver frightened...Owen is outgoing and friendly and Riley is shy and untrusting and so on....Owen is exactly the kind of dog I had hoped to find after being without a dog for 4 long years after the death of the best dog I have ever had the priviledge to own "MAC".

When Owen was 2 years old he would follow R around doing chores and got into one of the feed sheds, he ate some of the feed intended for cattle and became very ill (it had rumensin in it which helps with the cattles digestion but is toxic to dogs if they ingest too much) he became comatose and we had to take him to the vet.  They pumped his stomach and then put him on an IV and flushed his whole body with fluids...he recovered but had sustained some muscle and nerve damage...his hind end has been weak ever since and the past couple of years he has become somewhat stationary...since his legs are weak and it is hard for him to move much. But when he is having a good day he runs and jumps and cavorts like a puppy, usually paying the price later in the day ...but there is no stopping him when he is in a joyous mood...usually when "Mommy" comes outside....

It is going to be a sad day... Poor Owen . We are concerned about how Riley will take being the only dog...he is so shy and is so used to following his brother in all things that we worry about him.   Like I said earlier though it is not a surprise that it has finally come to be just sad that we could not deny it any longer.

We had the option of treating our dogs like dogs or welcoming them into our family as members and humanizing them in our minds and hearts and given the chance to do so again, I would not hesitate...because the pain and sadness we are about to go through pales in comparison to the happiness, laughter, love and joy we have recieved from our "boys" OWEN and RILEY.