Dog Gone

R.I.P. Angus (1993? to 2011)

Stray who came to us through fortunate circumstance.

Faithful protector of our home and children.

Scarer of mailmen and UPS deliverers (except for one, who brought you biscuits), but never a biter - ever.

Tolerant benefactor to the cats, and later the two younger dogs. You cleaned their ears like a mother.

Your last few years were hampered with blindness and arthritic hobbling, but you always loved to eat, sleep, and have a good brushing.

And then came the day when you couldn't get up. The episode passed and you had an 'Indian Summer' of remarkable recovery, but then it came again.

And now our family is down by one. A reminder of the ephemerality of life.

I wish your end was natural, but we couldn't watch you suffer. Saying goodbye at the Vet's was cruelly hard, and I was too much a coward to witness your leaving.

Forgive me, old Pal, for not taking that last walk with you as far as I could go. You are off the leash, forever.