I am a very lucky person. Although today, I am not sure what to feel. I had to put my dog to sleep three days ago. My dog’s name was Cody. He was a beautiful sheltie. He was 12, or 13 years old. The reason I do not know his exact age is because I found him ten years ago on my back porch. His owners really didn’t seem to care about him,so they let us keep him. They will never know the joy that they missed out on.
My Cody had always had problems since the day we found him. He apparently had had hip surgery at one time. He always had a hard time getting up. He definitely had good days. He loved to run in circles,and bark. His name had been “Tailspin” by his previous owners. He was my best friend. He very rarely parted from my side.
He slept beside my bed almost every night.
He was with me through very hard times. He helped me through my parents divorce. He moved out with me at 18 years old (after a fight with my father)into my boyfriend’s condo. He moved again with me when my “boyfriend” and I got married and bought a house. We were getting complaints about his constant barking when we weren’t at home. My husband almost got into a fight with a neighbor about it. Finally we moved out of the condo, and into a house
where he could bark all he wanted to.
Not too long after we bought our home, my husband’s parents found a stray dog (a boxer-pitbull mix) on their front porch. They called Wes and he immediately fell in love. I was not so sure though. Cody had always been an “only dog.” But the two soon became fast friends. They loved eachother-They were brothers.
As the years went on Cody’s health was getting worse. His hips were always in pain. He had his good days still, chasing his Big brother “Hootch” around and barking at him. But his bad days were beginning to be more often. He was put on a medication to help with the pain. Unfortunately, it didn’t help as much as we wished. And eventually he started having skin infections, and surgery to remove the infections-three of them to be exact. The surgeries were very hard on him. The last one, the worst. He had a huge bump on his side, I was scared of what the doctors would say, so I didn’t take him to the vet right away.
One day it burst and I had to take him. The doctor was afraid that it was cancer. He had to do a biopsy. He said I could take him home the following day. I called that morning to ask what time I could get him, and the doctor told me he had found out that Cody had liver damage, and would not possibly make it another week. I had some decisions to make. I knew Cody had been through enough,and I knew what I had to do.
I went to the vet’s office, and told him goodbye. He kept grabbing me with his paw when I stopped petting him. I knew how much he had been through. He had the bump removed, and so many stitches. I will never forget his eyes,and how sad they looked, but yet so glad I was there. I held him as they injected him with the medicine to make him sleep. I told him that I would see him again someday, and it was okay to go to sleep. He did not want to, so they gave him more, and then they took him away.
I keep on asking myself if I did the right thing. I still am not sure. I keep on thinking, what if I would have just taken him to the doctor sooner,or what if the biopsy didn’t show cancer,and maybe we could control the liver problem with more medications. But, I think somewhere deep down inside-I know that he is so much better off. He has no more pain in his poor little hips, and he will never have to go to the vet’s office that he hated so much ever again.
But as far as being lucky, I am so lucky to have had him in my life. I’m not sure how long it will take untill my broken heart mends, but I will never forget my precious “Cody Bugs” and all the joy he brought to my life.
I love You Cody,
| Cody |
| Krista |