Well we survived, which I knew we would, but it really stunk!
Friday night Mr. Bear had several hours of loving, back rubs and "good dog" hugs. He had a wonderful meal of meat scraps, gravy and italian sausages. We spent a good deal of time on the deck just hanging out with all the mutts and tried breaking the news to Gunner that tommorow Bear would be leaving us. I had left them loose all day on Friday so Bear wouldn't spend his last full day with us chained up. (who knows what those dogs did all day) I do know that the huge hole he dug in the mulch along side the house will be forgiven and probably left alone for quite awhile. I hope he visited the neighbor dogs and ripped up at least one bag of garbage for the neighbors to remember him by. I would have especially been proud if he had killed one more loose chicken from down the road just for old times sake. I honestly don't think he felt well enough to do too much damage.
I also left the goofy dogs unchained all night long. Usually this would result in huge holes in my flower beds but for some reason I think they all spent the night on the porch. Maybe they were waiting for more scraps and handouts which for some reason kept showing up every couple hours till I went to bed. They cleaned up all the lunch meat and the chicken fajita strips that were unopened until then. It was hard to go to bed knowing what was coming in the morning. At least it was for me, the boys seemed to sleep well.
When Gunner woke up and decided on pancakes for breakfast, I knew Bear would be happy. Eggs weren't his favorite. Bear had pancakes with syrup, bacon and sausage for breakfast (Kegger and Lucy just had pancakes) We spent a long tearful hour waiting for the time when Dada had to leave for the appointment. Just before it was time to go I told Gunner to give Bear one more big hug. Dada loaded Bear up in the "little red express" which is his name for his little beater s-10. By this time Dada who is the tough guy was crying too. We opened the window for Bear and leaned in and gave him last hugs and kisses and told him what a good boy he was and how much we loved him. He gave Gunner one last good bye lick which resulted in laughter and down the driveway Dada and Bear went.
The only details I really know from there is that Bear enjoyed a whoopie pie (oatmeal cream pie- the name goes back to Jake) and beefsticks on his last ride. After the vet visit where Dada cried too, Bear was buried in the "pet cemetary" at mom and dad's house where he is in good company. (Jake & Carri to name a few) Gunner is doing alright with it. He calls him by mistake when he calls the other dogs and has asked to cuddle Bear one more time. He also has told me he misses Bear almost hourly but doesn't seem to be too heartbroken. We have told Gunner from the beginning that Bear is going to see Jesus and will get to play with Jake, Bubba & Carri. We told Gunner that Bear was very sick, and old and was hurting. That the vet tried but couldn't make him feel better. For Gunner going to see Jesus is this awesome event which he wants to do himself. We have tried very hard to teach him that heaven is a wonderful place that we all want to go someday. Just not now, or anytime soon. His four year old logic is why wait? It is also hard to explain that if Bear is going to heaven where he will be happy, and free from pain, then why are you so sad mommy? He also hasn't really comprehended that heaven is forever, we will never see Bear again until we go to heaven. We have talked about what we think Bear had for dinner in heaven and what kind of dog house Jesus has for him. Which gets kind of silly and makes Gunner laugh with some of our ideas.
And then I am sure for some of you this brings up an argumentative topic. Just to state my opinion and what we are teaching our child... animals do go to heaven! While that may not be what you believe, we do. I would not argue with anyone about it, you are free to believe what you want, but I also would never tell your child something different from what you teach them so whatever your opinion is keep it to yourself. I can't begin to believe that God would create these faithful companions to love, serve and protect us and then not make room for them in forever. I don't care about bible verses or what certain religions think, what I think, feel and believe is what we are going with. And if for some reason I have it wrong, God will forgive me, and by that point I won't care any longer since in heaven there will be no sadness or pain. It makes us all feel better and in a 4 year olds eyes it makes sense.
Friday night Mr. Bear had several hours of loving, back rubs and "good dog" hugs. He had a wonderful meal of meat scraps, gravy and italian sausages. We spent a good deal of time on the deck just hanging out with all the mutts and tried breaking the news to Gunner that tommorow Bear would be leaving us. I had left them loose all day on Friday so Bear wouldn't spend his last full day with us chained up. (who knows what those dogs did all day) I do know that the huge hole he dug in the mulch along side the house will be forgiven and probably left alone for quite awhile. I hope he visited the neighbor dogs and ripped up at least one bag of garbage for the neighbors to remember him by. I would have especially been proud if he had killed one more loose chicken from down the road just for old times sake. I honestly don't think he felt well enough to do too much damage.
I also left the goofy dogs unchained all night long. Usually this would result in huge holes in my flower beds but for some reason I think they all spent the night on the porch. Maybe they were waiting for more scraps and handouts which for some reason kept showing up every couple hours till I went to bed. They cleaned up all the lunch meat and the chicken fajita strips that were unopened until then. It was hard to go to bed knowing what was coming in the morning. At least it was for me, the boys seemed to sleep well.
When Gunner woke up and decided on pancakes for breakfast, I knew Bear would be happy. Eggs weren't his favorite. Bear had pancakes with syrup, bacon and sausage for breakfast (Kegger and Lucy just had pancakes) We spent a long tearful hour waiting for the time when Dada had to leave for the appointment. Just before it was time to go I told Gunner to give Bear one more big hug. Dada loaded Bear up in the "little red express" which is his name for his little beater s-10. By this time Dada who is the tough guy was crying too. We opened the window for Bear and leaned in and gave him last hugs and kisses and told him what a good boy he was and how much we loved him. He gave Gunner one last good bye lick which resulted in laughter and down the driveway Dada and Bear went.
The only details I really know from there is that Bear enjoyed a whoopie pie (oatmeal cream pie- the name goes back to Jake) and beefsticks on his last ride. After the vet visit where Dada cried too, Bear was buried in the "pet cemetary" at mom and dad's house where he is in good company. (Jake & Carri to name a few) Gunner is doing alright with it. He calls him by mistake when he calls the other dogs and has asked to cuddle Bear one more time. He also has told me he misses Bear almost hourly but doesn't seem to be too heartbroken. We have told Gunner from the beginning that Bear is going to see Jesus and will get to play with Jake, Bubba & Carri. We told Gunner that Bear was very sick, and old and was hurting. That the vet tried but couldn't make him feel better. For Gunner going to see Jesus is this awesome event which he wants to do himself. We have tried very hard to teach him that heaven is a wonderful place that we all want to go someday. Just not now, or anytime soon. His four year old logic is why wait? It is also hard to explain that if Bear is going to heaven where he will be happy, and free from pain, then why are you so sad mommy? He also hasn't really comprehended that heaven is forever, we will never see Bear again until we go to heaven. We have talked about what we think Bear had for dinner in heaven and what kind of dog house Jesus has for him. Which gets kind of silly and makes Gunner laugh with some of our ideas.
And then I am sure for some of you this brings up an argumentative topic. Just to state my opinion and what we are teaching our child... animals do go to heaven! While that may not be what you believe, we do. I would not argue with anyone about it, you are free to believe what you want, but I also would never tell your child something different from what you teach them so whatever your opinion is keep it to yourself. I can't begin to believe that God would create these faithful companions to love, serve and protect us and then not make room for them in forever. I don't care about bible verses or what certain religions think, what I think, feel and believe is what we are going with. And if for some reason I have it wrong, God will forgive me, and by that point I won't care any longer since in heaven there will be no sadness or pain. It makes us all feel better and in a 4 year olds eyes it makes sense.
Kegger and Lucy are moping around the yard, missing Bear and wondering where the snacks went. Kegger still has eye issues, which are no worse and no better. We are just going to keep and eye on him and see how he does, since the vet said a brain tumor was likely if the antibiotics didn't work. Gary and I have guessed that Kegger won't last the winter regardless. He is a basset mix for one. For two Bear and Kegger have been together since Bear was a 8 weeks old and Kegger was about 8 months old. Bear was in charge of all of Keggers grooming, he kept his eyes and ears clean. Yup it was quite gross, but they loved each other and were inseperable, until now. I am figuring Kegger will give up the fight without his best bud and the pet cemetary population will increase by one. Hopefully by then Dad has his skidsteer back because digging in the winter would be awful.
For all of you who have bothered to read this much, thanks! I know I have gone on quite a bit about a dog, but looking back over the last 10 years there is quite a bit to talk about. Until we moved into our current house right before Gunner was born, these dogs were like our children. They slept in the house and rode in the car whenever we went to my parents house or to a ball game. They were converted into outside dogs which was probably rough on them when Gunner was born. Luckily they weren't resentful of their little replacement. They all loved Gunner dearly, especially Bear. They watched his every move and loved to play with him, even when he didn't play nicely. It is amazing the unconditional love of a dog. Even though I have had little to no extra time to give these creatures for several years they still are faithful. Still loving and kind, and looking for our affection. At least I got to give Bear some of that long overdo loving before he left us.
For all of you who have bothered to read this much, thanks! I know I have gone on quite a bit about a dog, but looking back over the last 10 years there is quite a bit to talk about. Until we moved into our current house right before Gunner was born, these dogs were like our children. They slept in the house and rode in the car whenever we went to my parents house or to a ball game. They were converted into outside dogs which was probably rough on them when Gunner was born. Luckily they weren't resentful of their little replacement. They all loved Gunner dearly, especially Bear. They watched his every move and loved to play with him, even when he didn't play nicely. It is amazing the unconditional love of a dog. Even though I have had little to no extra time to give these creatures for several years they still are faithful. Still loving and kind, and looking for our affection. At least I got to give Bear some of that long overdo loving before he left us.
1 comment:
So sad, but it sounds like everyone made it through. He's chasing the chickens in the sky, I'm sure!
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