It’s only been about 2 hours since our beloved Grizzley went to the Rainbow Bridge, assisted by the skilled, kind, and compassionate hands of Rich Coleman, DVM, Cincinnati, Ohio. I have been grieving all day, because about 2 this morning I knew we had to let Grizzley go, so I called Dr. Rich about 10 am to make the arrangements. The end came so suddenly, because a week ago Grizzley was fine, other than suffering the infirmities of an old dog. Sometime last week I noticed that he was getting slower and slower about standing up, and he was doing it with great difficulty. Saturday morning his back legs couldn’t support him at all so I took him to see Dr. Rich and he put him on some medicine to see if would help over the weekend. It didn’t, and yesterday Griz couldn’t stand at all and he wouldn’t eat and was sleeping most of the time. I was having to carry him outside for him to do his business, and that’s not an easy thing to do with an 83 pound dog. When I got him outside he couldn’t stand to do his business.
This morning he was soiling himself and wouldn’t even take water. I called Dr. Rich and he suggested a couple of things it could be, but at Grizzley’s age, the prognosis was very poor. So about 11 this morning my wife, our daughter, and I tearfully made the decision to let Grizzley go. Grizzley came to live with us when he was 6 years old. His owner told us that he got his name because when he was a puppy he looked exactly like a miniature grizzly bear cub. His previous owner was a breeder who was a friend of a friend of ours and she was looking for a home for Grizzley because she had one too many Goldens. Our friend asked us if we would be willing to try Grizzley for a weekend, and we reluctantly agreed, thinking that by Monday morning he would be going back to his owner.
How wrong we were. When he came into our house with those big, soulful, brown eyes, and that wagging tail knocking everything off the coffee table, we were hooked. That weekend turned into nearly 7 years. During Grizzley’s time with us we were blessed with the presence of a gentle, friendly, and loving pet that affected everyone he came into contact with. He would let our 2 year old grandson sit on him like a pony and keep wagging his tail. Everyone in our family loved him very much. Needless to say, we are all hurting tonight. My wife, our daughter, and I were with him to the end, and through our tears we each told him how much we loved him. Saying goodbye to such a beautiful creature of God is hard. I even detected some tears in Dr. Rich’s eyes.
My last words to Griz were that sometime, somewhere, he and I would play ball again with that red ball that he loved so much.
Tomorrow my wife and I will pick out an urn for his ashes so that he can still reside in the home he loved so much.
Thanks for listening, writing this has helped eased my hurt a little bit.
We will remember and love you all of our days
| Grizzley |
| Paul Toms |