Nero was the first pet that my husband and I had together. The first dog for my husband, ever. We rescued Nero from a shelter in 1998, he was 4 years old. I couldn’t imagine why someone would give up such a great dog – he was the best dog ever. Sure he had some annoying habits, like begging whenever there was food around, but what I wouldn’t give now to see his big, brown begging eyes at the table.
Our 16 month old daughter would pull his fur and pat his head a little harder than she should, but he was so good about it – he just let her do it. Sometimes he’d get annoyed and grunt and walk away, but most times he would just let her love him.
His favorite games were tug of war, and fetch … although he never did bring the ball back, he just liked to chew it and have us try
to get it away from him.
Everything seemed to be fine up until Mother’s Day. He wasn’t looking quite right – he was wobbling and couldn’t see well, so my husband brought him to the emergency vet. It turned out that Nero had a stroke; he had to stay overnight for more tests. The next day, the vet said the words we never thought we’d hear. He has terminal lung cancer, and likely only had 2 to 4 weeks to live.
Over the next week, he seemed to age 10 years. His eyes and body were so very tired, but he couldn’t get comfortable enough to go to sleep. He didn’t want to play his favorite games anymore. He didn’t run out the back door to chase the birds and squirrels. And then one day he stopped eating. After only one week since his diagnosis, we had to do what we never prepared ourselves for – and even though we know that it was the best thing for him, we couldn’t bear the thought of letting him go, and we felt so guilty for making the appointment.
We both were there with him during his final moments. After all the love and joy and happiness he brought to our lives, we couldn’t let him take his last breath in fear, without us both there holding him. It was the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do.
The morning of his last appointment, I dug out the garden stone kit I’ve had stored in my garage for years, and I made an imprint of his paws. We had him cremated so we can bring him home and bury him in a special spot in the back yard with the garden stone marker.
He gave us unconditional love and affection for 7 years, and we will forever be grateful for the time we had with him. We keep thinking that we’re going to see him laying in his usual spots. But Nero is at Rainbow Bridge now, running and playing and chewing tennis balls, and he will be there waiting for us when it’s our time. Good bye, dear friend – we will never be the same without you.
We miss you, Nero ...
you're such a good boy.
| Nero |
| Kris & Peter |