Your Pet Tributes

by Cassie
(California)

It’s been a week since my dog was put down. My dog Oliver was my best friend in the world. He came into me and my family’s life as a blessing. We came across the little white dog sleeping peacefully with a Chihuahua sleeping on him. He was a feisty, white maltese poodle mix with a huge heart.

He would welcome people into our house with happy yips, licking people’s feet and shoes and wagging his tail furiously. He protected us from monsters such as mail men and squirrels. Anytime I cried, I would cuddle him and he’d lick away my tears. He was my rock. Every time my family criticized me, he was the one who understood. He loved me for me. The one I could tell anything to. He was there for me through all my years of struggling with depression.

My family got him, partially by accident. We went to Pet Co. looking for a beta fish tank in Febuary of 2004. A local animal rescue group was sitting there and we noticed Oliver, lying there with a Chihuahua lying in the crook of his stomach. We thought he was so calm… (how wrong we were! He was anything but.) Me and my two sisters convinced, even my parents to let us adopt him.

A few days later the rescue came by, checked out our house, and then let us adopt the furry white bundle of love. Later that day I was home alone with him, and heard him barking. I ran in the room to see what was wrong, he was barking at his reflection in the mirror. When we adopted him the vet guessed he was 3 or 4.

The next almost 6-years has flown by. It’s been absolutely amazing. He slept in my bed every night, and often pawed my leg to sleep in my lap during the day. When I came home from school he would jump all over me, furiously wagging his tail and barking. He was my best friend. He could always cheer me up with his antics. Whether it was trying to attack me every time I rubbed his belly, to giving me joyful licks all over my face, ‘sharing’ his treats with me by hiding them in my shoes and laundry, tearing up the mail as it came through the slot... but most of all he was content to just sit beside me.

He recently became best friends with our neighbor’s puppy, Romeo. They would chase each other around the street for what seemed like hours on end. I still hear Romeo’s anxious and mournful barks, hoping for a reply from his buddy, and only receiving silence in return.

Even my Uncle Mario who hates dogs, loved him. My Grandparents say they hate him and he was a stupid dog… deep down I knew they loved him. My mom would always complain about him, I know she loves him, she was crying the night we put him down. So were my sisters.

I went off to college in August of 2010. Ollie was around 9 or 10. The 2nd hardest thing I’ve ever done was leaving him in California for my college in Vermont. (the 1st hardest was putting him down.) I left him for 5 months. I was happy, but still felt the hollow ache of missing my dog. I so regret not coming home for Thanksgiving to see him healthy one last time.

I got reports of him running around in circles yelping in pain and bashing into the walls, windows, fence and shower. He was in a lot of pain. My parents wouldn’t take him to the vet. I came home last week, he was so excited to see me. He didn’t bark, which I thought was odd, but he was wagging his tail furiously and wouldn’t leave my side that night. I slept with him that night, for the 2nd to last time.

The next day he seemed relatively normal, but did run in his pain circles a couple of times. He would not, nor probably could not go to the bathroom. I left for a few hours that night, but skipped seeing some old friends to spend time with him. I came back and could not find him anywhere. I freaked out running from room to room. I finally found him in my sister’s room, barfing in the closet. I took him and held him in my arms that whole night.

The next morning my Dad found him wandering the downstairs, having a few accidents. My Dad then put him in his dog bed in the pen, he never rose from the bed again. He was severely dehydrated and didn’t eat nor drink. He didn’t go to the bathroom, other than wetting himself. He was throwing up and having seizures. I drink to force water in him with a syringe… but his head just flopped and he didn’t swallow.

We called the vet who lives behind us, but couldn’t get a hold of her for a couple of hours. The whole time I sat by my dog, petting him, talking to him. I even picked up his dog bed and carried it into my room and sat with him in my lap. I didn’t let him out of my sight. When I went down to lunch, I put his dog bed on the table. When I watched TV, his bed was in my lap.

Finally, the vet came over and gave us the news to have him pet down. The verdict: snail poison.

After that I felt my world collapse. I was sobbing all day, talking to him. Pleading with God to heal my baby. I put his collar around my ankle. That night was the worst night of my life. I had to take him to the vet. I walked in and told the receptionist what was happening with him. My parents didn’t want to have any tests done, nor did they want to pay for his ashes. Me, my parents and my sisters were sitting there, all crying in the lobby.

We went in once he had the first needle put in and I was the main one petting him, talking to him. His eyes were somewhat alert, he was comprehending what I was saying. I was the last one to pet him before the vet stuck the needle in. That night I was a mess, I was sobbing and felt like my world was crumbling. I was snuggling his favorite toy - a beaten up large beanie baby and stuck his collar around it.

I still miss the sound of his barking at the mail man. The feel of him peacefully sleeping curled up in my side. Playing tug-a-war with him. Oliver walking into my room just wanting to sit next to me… I sleep with his favorite dog and collar still. The grief is crippling, I keep trying to move on… but it’s so incredibly difficult.

I miss you so much Ollie-baby. Thank you for waiting till I got home to say goodbye. I love you more than anything. Dogs are more than furry friends, they’re family and best friends. Rest in Peace my Ollie-baby. Know I will miss you forever. I still have a ways to go, but wait for me at the Rainbow Bridge. I love you!!