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R.I.P Old Friend
It is with a heavy heart that I post this entry. Today a friend of over 16 years passed, and I shall miss her dearly. Babette, my Australian Blue Healer, had to be put down today, and it is a very sad day here at the Boll Weevil Brewery. She has been a friend, companion, and protector of my family for almost as long as I have had a family. My wife and I brought her into our home shortly after our first anniversary, and she's been with us ever since.
When she was about two years old, she was hit by a car, and had hip problems off and on since then, but she always managed to work things out and be able to run and play for most of her life, but about 4 months ago one of her rear legs popped out of joint...or so I thought.
Off and on since her car accident, she would injure her legs, usually by jumping off of our back patio, and would limp around for a day or so, but she always got over the soreness or whatever the problems was, but not the last time. I took her to the vet, and after doing some x-rays, he determined that she had developed a bone cancer that apparently isn't uncommon in dogs. The vet said that he could remove her leg, but that it wouldn't extend her lifetime, and that it wouldn't stop the cancer from spreading, and that it wouldn't be too much longer before it would spread to her lungs. She was 16 years old, and being a large breed dog, she was already approaching the end of her life, so I chose to bring her back home and let her live out the rest of her days with the family, and pass when it was time.
I think that she was finally ready, although perhaps I was not quite ready to let her go. Her leg, the one infected with the cancer, had gotten larger and larger, and she finally got to the point where she wouldn't go out, she wouldn't hardly eat, she wouldn't do much of anything except lay around. She didn't seem like she was in pain though...I was waiting for her to start whining or panting, or give any of the typical signs of an animal being in pain, but she was clear headed and bright eyed until the end. Putting her in the car to take her to the vet to have her put down is honestly one of the hardest things that I believe I've ever had to do in my life.
As with any member of the family...there were times when I could have killed her! She never missed a chance to get out of the fence and chase other dogs in the neighborhood, or run after a random jogger that passed by too close. She loved to run the privacy fence on the inside, barking like a wild dog at anything that happend to be on the outside. Squirrels in the yard? Hell no! Luckly for both her and the squirrels, she never managed to catch one, but she sure scared the heck out of any of them that managed to get in the yard on her watch.
As troublesome as she may have at times been, she was a wonderful protector of my two little boys. Whenever a stranger, or anyone for that matter, was in the house, they never were allowed to get between one of my children and Babette. Being a cattle dog by breed, she never directly attacked anyone, but whenever someone that she didn't trust strayed a bit too close to one of the children she would streak by fast as a flash and give them a warning "nip" on the ankle.
Babette old girl, you will be missed.
I've always been a cat person, and Babette was my first...and probably last...dog. Cats are independant, and while you can get close to them, they manage to keep you at a certain distance, and only allow you into their circle on their terms. A dog? Well, dogs are the living embodiment of unconditional love and devotion. They never tire, and are always happy to see their "master." They love their owners, and their owners come to love them and accept them into their homes.
Then...the pets leave, leaving a hole in the heart of those they left behind. A void in the heart, and an empty place on the floor beside the chair, a blank spot on the sofa. No more loving nudges in the leg to go out, no more barks when the door bell rings. No more cleaning up the leftovers on the plates and no more chasing the squirrels.
Rest in peace Babette, rest in peace.