A few years ago my eleven year old Chow (Puta) passed unexpectedly. It was very peaceful. She simply lay down on the patio one sunny afternoon and went to sleep. I cried the whole time I buried her in my back yard.
July a year ago we lost our eleven year old Lab, Sandy. We had been out of town and when we came in she wasn't at the gate waiting as usual. I walked around the back yard and found her lying behind one of one storage buildings, unable to stand. I carried her up to the patio. I stayed with her for over four hours as she passed at about 2:30 am. The whole time I kept talking to her, telling her what a good girl she was and stroking her head. I buried her the following morning next to the spot where I buried my Chow fourteen years before.
Our Jack Russel (Lil Bit) is now ten years old and has asthma. She is a little slower than she used to be and sometime has trouble breathing, wheezing for a few seconds. Treatment works most of the time but the occurrences have become more frequent. I'm afraid she may get worse and before too long I will have another pet to say goodbye to.
All three of these dogs have lived their whole lives in this back yard. The Lab passed during the night so I wasn't forced to have to make the decision to take her anywhere for her final moments. Not sure I can do it with Bit. Guess I will see when the time comes.
That Chow was the best damn dog I ever had. While I have loved the ones that followed I never allowed myself to become near as close to them. I still miss her.
