This is a tribute to my beloved “Tristan,” who went to live with
God almost 6 yrs.ago.
I loved this wonderful dog more than I could ever explain.
He was so very beautiful,and had the shiniest,slickest coat of
any dog that I had ever seen. I bought him as a puppy and
named him “Tristan” ( from the James Herriot books )
Tristan was my best friend. He would greet me at the door when
I came home & cover me with kisses.
He swam in our pool with us,slept with us,and was one of
our family. He wasn’t very brave though.
He would always run to “mommy” for me to protect him from
anything strange. He wouldn’t even get near a box or shopping bag
that I brought home ,until I showed him that he was safe!
Oh how I loved him!!!!
When he was 3 years old,he developed symptoms of “torsion”.
I rushed him to the hospital.
The veterinarian discoverd a mass of some kind in his abdomen.
He had chewed on a shoe a few days earlier & we thought that
what the x-ray was showing was probably a piece of leather.
The doctor scheduled surgery for the next morning.
He said that I could come back in the morning & spend some time
with Tristan before the surgery,so I brought him his favorite toy his
feather bed that he liked to “nap” on,and one of my coats
( that had my scent on it ) to make him feel maybe a little less scared.
I crawled into the big cage with him & held him until time for his
surgery. The doctor came out just a few minutes after
the surgery began & told me that Tristan was FULL OF CANCER.
Probably wouldn’t live longer than a couple of weeks.
He asked me what I wanted to do. I didn’t want Tristan to live out
his last few days in pain.I could not bear to see him suffer.
OH GOD. How could this be happening?
He had only lived 3 short years. How could I live without him?
I told the doctor to euthanize him. I couldn’t believe that I was
saying those words.
The doctor asked me if I wanted him to wake Tristan up so I could
spend some time with him before he was “put to sleep.”NO,NO!!
I did NOT want “Tristan” to go through the euthanasia
while he was alert enough to be scared all over again!!!
I could not bear to see the life go out of him. I told the
doctor to euthanize him while he was still under anesthesia.
He let me go into the operating room to see him first.
I laid across the table and held him kissed him & cried for my friend.
Cried for me too. For the intense loss that I already felt.
How could this be happening?
Why God??
My husband had to drag me away from him. We went to
the parking lot & waited til they brought his lifeless body to us.
We brought him home ,and while my husband dug his grave I brushed him,
wrapped him up in a sleeping bag and laid him on his feather bed.
We buried him with his favorite toys,leash & bowl.
I spent the next 3 days in bed crying.
I planted “Forget-me- Not’s” on his grave in the Spring.
I called the breeder that I had bought him from & told them what
had happened. They still owned Tristan’s parents,and
had kept a male from the last litter until it was 18 mos. old.
They had to sell him because he had started fighting with his father.
The people that bought him were divorcing and now needed to
find him another home. I called them arranged to have him flown to
us ,but the lady said that she would gladly drive him to me as she had
always wanted to see our state,& this was her chance.
So we agreed on a price. ( I would have paid any amount to have a
dog that was a part of Tristan. She drove him to me.
“Toby” was my Christmas present. He is a wonderful dog.
Looks somewhat like Tristan but is beautiful in his OWN way.
I don’t compare the two. It is nice though to have Tristan’s”brother.”
Toby has lived with us since December of 1992.
We love him very much.
He is ALSO afraid of everything,just like Tristan” was.
There will never be another Tristan” though.
He took a BIG piece of my heart with him to Heaven.
This tribute is for you “Tris.”
I know that God is taking good care of you.
I love you and miss you.
You will live on in my heart forever.
Love,
“Mommy”
Here is a poem that was on a sympathy card that the doctor sent
to me after Tristan died. It gave me a lot of comfort .
I hope that it will help someone else:
“Grieve not,
nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk of me
as if I were beside you…..
I loved you so-
’twas Heaven here with you.”
(This poem was written by: Isla Paschal Richardson )
| Tristan |