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In Loving Memory
- Nov 25, 2009 at 3:08 PM
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- Comments (2) Total Views (23) Everyone can see this journal post.
I have a dog named Totty. My mom bought her from an addict for $5. She was an abused dog, small cairn terrier mix, only 2 years old. She took to me, and I named her. I was 20 years old. It took over a year for her to not be afraid to deal with other people, to not make a puddle whenever someone tried to pet her. It was that bad, but I kept loving her and snuggling her everyday, and she came out of it.
When I was 23, an ex-bf assaulted me. He attacked me from behind while I was on my way home from work, and the result was swelling on the brain and a major concussion. I only remember bits of that night to this day. But what I'll never forget was that Totty became a watch dog after that. She monitored every person that came near me, sounded an alarm if there was a scent she didn't know. I'll always love her for that.
Even when my son Wes was born, she protected him too. I found that beer was a trigger for her. The smell brought bad memories, so I was always sensitive about that. She attacked someone with it on his breath. She's better about that now, too, but she still cringes a little.
She's had kidney failure, tumors and what not. We've taken her to the doctor, kept track of her, gave her her meds, loved her. Finally, one system after another failed. Pain began to blind her memory of us, and the doctors said that her cells were literally killing each other. When she got sick, I asked God for a sign of what to do. I felt I got it.
I held her in a blanket, and the technician ran a long IV line. She only saw my face, was unaware of much else. I pressed my lips to her brow as she took her last breath. She was 20 years old, surpassing the average life expectancy for her breed by 8 years.
There's no words for this, but I just wanted to share how much she meant to me and how much I'll miss her.
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I am so sorry. So very sorry. Your story brought tears to my eyes for more reasons than I can count.
I am glad you gave that sweet dog a good life.
My best to you.
Julie