As of last Thursday evening, we are down to only five dogs now (and the 4 cats, 1 rabbit, and 5 chickens). Our oldest dog, Callie, who has been slowly getting slower, finally didn't seem to have the energy to eat, drink, or hold herself up anymore, so I made the decision to put her to sleep. I hate that it is "my decision" to end a life; I don't like the idea of it at all. But I do believe in quality of life and Callie's rapidly decreased to next to nothing.
Of course, as these things seem to go in our house, everything always happens at once. My husband left town on Wednesday midday and was gone until early Sunday morning. Callie stopped eating and drinking on Wednesday night and couldn't stand, so I was spending more time with her trying to entice her to eat, help her outside, etc. I was also preparing baked goods (3 kinds of whoopie pies!) and getting things ready for a holiday artist showcase event at a local distillery. My brother makes wooden cutting boards and this was his first event. Since I have some experience with selling at craft shows (my husband and I used to sell beeswax candles), I took over as his marketing assistant. The only appointment I could get at the veterinarian was an hour before the event started. Throw some heavy rain in and a two year old busy babe and I was quite the stressed out lady.
Everything turned out well though. I feel that I made the right decision for Callie, my brother's new side hobby got some exposure, and our parents came up to support him and I got a much needed hug from my Mom and Dad.
When one of our pets dies, we bury them in the backyard on the other side of the fence. Callie will make the third Corgi; there are also two rabbits and I believe one chicken back there. We'll bring Callie home this week (currently in the freezer at the vet) and my husband will have to do the duty himself. I had planned on having it be a family affair, but was unsure how I was going to explain it to the little babe. When we left the vet on Wednesday, I simply told her that Callie was sick and we were leaving her at the vet - that she was staying there. She has not asked about her since. My wise Mother said that in the mind of the little babe, that is what happened - we left Callie at the vet, end of story. If we would try to explain that Callie had died and that we were burying her in the back yard (and the fact that she was cold, stiff, etc) it would be way too complicated for a two year old. So that is what we will do. My husband will have to bury her under cover of darkness or while I take the little babe to the park.
If you have any experience explaining death (pet or people) to your child, I would love to hear about it. With all of the animals in our home, we will have plenty more experiences with it in the future. If you don't want to leave a comment below, you could email me at [email protected]
And so we don't end this post on too sad a note for a Monday morning, here are some Corgi and little babe pictures.
Apple eating for all on a sunny Sunday morning. We still have plenty to smile about.