Hi, Folks…
On September 18th,
I finally came to terms with a most egregious chore that needed very badly to
be done.
The little guy in the
picture with me had reached the point, at 18 years of age, that he really had
no quality of life left and no capacity for doing all the things dogs do. He
had been deaf for several years and his cataracts had made him almost
completely blind. In addition he had contracted canine vestibular disease,
which affects the inner ear of the dog and causes lack of balance and vertigo.
Most dogs learn to cope with that, and Maverick did better than most, but he continuously
walked in circles, ceaselessly, and he could no longer eat or drink without
someone there to steady him and prevent him from falling. The last year was
particularly rough, as we were afraid to leave him by himself for any length of
time. He would fall and get hung up in a bush or in a fence and be stranded in
the sun and the heat until we came home to rescue him.
Donna and I finally
came to terms with the fact that we were avoiding the pain of having to put him
down and that it was selfish to let him continue. Our veterinarian has had to
do several dogs for us in the past and we are not the type to just drop them
off and go away. We feel we owe it to our pets to be there and hold them when
they go. Best thing for the pet. Hardest thing for the person.
Anyway, we are fresh
out of dogs right now and we’re going to give it some time before we decide if
we’re going to get anymore. We’re old people and any pet we get now will most
likely outlive us. But I keep looking at all the cute videos online and the
shelter isn’t that far away. They always seem to be in need of doggie parents,
so we’ll see…
Wichita, KS 9/30/24
