For Woody

Our dog, Woody, died on Friday, December 11, 2015 at around 7:10 pm. Our hearts are still sad many days afterward. It was terrible to see our happy dog become so incapacitated in his last days, and especially during the last day. The look in his eyes told me that he knew that he was done. Both Denise and I took time to lay with him while he was still cognizant of the world. After his body became to finally give out, I sat down and stroked his body and spoke to him quietly. He eventually took his last breath. His body twitched twice as life left him. 

I couldn't bear to have the vet put him down, so I brought him home so that he could spend his last day with his family. I know that it was traumatic for our entire family, but after spending nearly 14 years together, I felt that he needed to go at home with the family who loved him so much. 

I will never look at that spot in the hallway the same ever again. That is where his ghost will always remain. 

Taking his limp body to the vet hospital to be cremated was one of the most difficult and emotional drives Woody and I have ever taken together. Once inside of the room, I just sat there talking to him and cried. It is no simple task to leave those who we love. It is no simple task to walk away from a body that meant so much, regardless of its lifeless state. 

There seems to an eerie silence around our house these days. There is no more barking in the morning for food. There is no more being enthusiastically greeted at the door upon returning home. His companion, CeCe, still wanders the house looking for him. She waits at the door for him to come home from the vet, but it is only us who walk through the door. 

This year Christmas is a little bit sadder than it has been in a long time. 

Goodbye Woody. 

Wherever you are, may the fields be green and wide open. May your dish always be full. May someone who loves you scratch your belly. May you have someone to love in our absence. May your tail wag forever after.