Our dog Maddie was put to sleep last night. I knew she was sick and I knew it was time but I don't think I was ready yet.
We got Maddie from the animal shelter many, many moons ago.. we are all debating how long we have had her. But it was for Amanda's birthday, it was her dog. So Amanda, Christopher and I(believe it or not that was all of us back in those days- just the three of us!) trudged down to the animal shelter around Amanda's birthday that year and went up and down the kennels looking at all the dogs. I found one that I thought was perfect but Amanda found Maddie.
Maddie was skin and bones and about knee high from her back to the floor, she was a golden brown medium length haired dog that was missing a patch of fir chain wide around her neck. Her head was huge. But this was the one Amanda wanted and it was her dog for her birthday. So we paid for her.
Well as we know the animal shelter does not let you take that animal home that day, you must pay, fill out papers and then come back in three days after the animal has been made into an it... and so we did. The day we returned to get our new member of the family the shelter decided it was time for us to have "information" on our new pet. It was a write up from the people who had dropped her off a few weeks before. They claimed she was a terrible dog, she ripped up everything in the house, that she tried to dig her way out of the yard and was just un-trainable. All I could think of is what did I get myself into???
Well, that was about 15 years ago and I am not sure who the dog on the paper was talking about but it wasn't the dog we brought home. She was the best animal, the best playmate, a protector to the kids, she was a happy animal and other then the window screens I can't think of one thing she ever destroyed.
She hated to be cooped up. She loved to lay outside, in the front yard and chat with all the neighbors! So if the windows were open and no one was home she would find her way to the front yard. This was okay for the first six years we had her because we lived in the country, on a dirt road and the neighbors loved Maddie.
But after we moved to the home we live in now, we live next door to Satan who hates animals. We finally had to explain to the kids NOT to let Maddie out the front door as this neighbor walked up and down the street kicking any animals he would see and actually took a long bladed knife after Maddie's legs back about eight years ago. Cops couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it... so I am just rude to this neighbor and live in an isolated neighborhood where people don't speak to each other.
But Maddie has been a part of this family through a marriage then a divorce and then another marriage along with the pregnancy and birth of two kids and the adoption of another. She watched Chris and Amanda grow up and move out on their own. She has laid next to the crib of each of the new Born's until she feels that child doesn't need her there and then moves back to her spot in the hallway, out side all the children's doors, where she can protect all of the kids at the same time. She found her way into my room next to the crib we had for Alexis after we brought her home from China. She has been used as a step for the little ones as they learned to get up on the furniture and as the pillow for them while they laid on the floor to watch tv. She has been dressed as a pumpkin for Halloween and had blankets tied around her neck to make her a cape so she could be super dog!
But Maddie started to show signs of age a few years ago, then about 10 months ago I had a feeling she had diabetes... she was drinking a bowl of water then using the bathroom all night long! I took her to the vet who ran test, charged me a whole lot of money and told me it was old age. Then she started not to hear. She didn't bark anymore the last few months and then yesterday morning she was just not breathing right. My year in nursing school told me what I didn't want to face, it was really time.
After Jay got home and we got the kids fed, we found her in the master bathroom on the tile floor. She hadn't moved in hours. Jay tried to get her to drink but she would not move. So at ten last night I called the emergency pet clinic and they told us to bring her in.
Her inner body temp was 107 and they checked it twice. Her lungs were full of fluid and she could barely breath. I couldn't get Amanda on the phone and after hearing the doctor state that Maddie had cancer and it was in her lungs- which is not a place dogs get cancer so it was in other parts of her body also- I had to make the decision I knew was coming but I was dreading to have her put to sleep.
They asked us how we wanted to handle the body? I knew I was not going to bring Maddie home for the kids to see her and I just couldn't imagine putting a bowl of ashes on my fireplace so that we could be sad every time we looked up there so I first just wanted them to have her cremated and then her ashes put out with the other animals on a farm somewhere north of here.. but I couldn't get Amanda to answer her phone and I felt that she or Chris needed to decided.
So I called Chris. He told me to please bring Maddie's ashes home so that we could spread her over our front yard and then she could be where she loved to be best. And I thought this was the right choice.
So that is the story of the greatest dog ever. A family pet, a family member who will be dearly missed in this home forever.
