Saturday, January 10, 2009

A dog is a mans best friend...




In most relationships, especially those that begin after you reach a certain age, you bring and acquire a certain amount of baggage, or history. When I met Brian, he came with a dog and I came with a daughter. Some of our earliest dates involved the two of them. Brian would try to talk Tessa out of doing her homework to go get ice cream, or I would go over to Brian's place and we would take Brook for a walk. I know for both of us, it took some getting used to. Brian had never had children, and I had never had a dog that was so much like having another child. When I met Brian, Brook was 6 and still had the energy of a puppy. So much so that she ran away from me once and I had to call the police to help me look for her as Brian was out of state! I got her home safely, after a tense phone call to Brian on a golf course in Kentucky. Sadly, Brook was diagnosed with liver cancer last December. It was a tough decision whether or not to operate on a 12 year old Golden Retriever well into the prime of her life, and with such a major surgery. But we did, and she bounced back better than we had ever hoped for. Then, a few weeks ago we noticed a growth on her mouth. I took her to have it looked at, really thinking it was some kind of abscess or skin irritation on her gums. Unfortunately that turned out not to be the case, and the growth was diagnosed as skin cancer, which had also progressed rapidly into cancer throughout her lungs and other areas of her body. We were advised by an oncologist to enjoy our last few months with her, and that Brook would let us know when the time came to say goodbye. What we were not prepared for was how quickly her illness would progress. Last weekend we took her to the dog park where she grew up so she could have her last fill of freedom and memories. A few days later Brook let us know it was time to say goodbye. We took her to the vet hospital on Thursday where we did say our last goodbyes to our Brook.
I've had some really nice phone calls and emails from some of you who knew about Brooks illness. Thank you for that. I had prepared myself for the facts of what would happen to her but not the emotions, so your kind thoughts mean a lot.
As Brian would say: 13 years. She had a good run.


6 comments:

WendyB said...

It's hard to lose a pet. Sounds like you gave her a great life and a peaceful death and that's the best anyone can do.

Ally said...

You loved Brook an awful lot and it's sweet you got to go to the doggie park.

*hugs*

Anonymous said...

Oh, KT, so sorry to read of your loss. Even if you know it is coming it is never easy and I am sure it seems empty around your house. You are all in my thoughts (Calli's and Smokey's too!).

La Belette Rouge said...

KT: I am so very sorry. I know the grief of losing a pet but I cannot imagine how difficult it was to make the loving and humane decision you did. How lovely that you gave her that day at the dog park. I wish I could say something that could help in the smallest way. I send much love, hugs and my sincerest condolences.xo

Hillary said...

KT I was so touched by this post. My sincerest condolences on the passing of Brook. It's obvious she had a long and very loving life.

Sara said...

KT, So sorry to hear about Brook. My family lost a pet just a few months ago and reading your post made me tear up all over again. It sounds like you made her last days happy and she was obviously very well loved. What more could a dog ask for?


MusicPlaylistRingtones

Blog Design by JudithShakes Designs.