End of an era, Fletcher's turn.

[Whateverist]

My old dog Fletcher, whose mug graces my avatar pic, is ready to check out. He has stopped eating anything, is breathing hard and is too weak to walk more than 10 or 20 faltering feet. But I took him for a ride in the wheelbarrow today and he held his head up on the way and for a while once we got there. I either had to have the vet come today to put him down or wait until Tuesday, after our Labor day holiday. I'm glad to know that decision is unavailable this weekend. But it is time to say good bye before his difficulty breathing causes him to die of suffocation. That would not be a nice way to go.





A week ago he could still walk around the block to the park on his own and make it down to the creek for a soak.



He is laying on the couch beside me now and it feels good to bask in his company a little longer. The last dog I put down was 15 and a half. Losing Sophie was like losing a dutiful daughter. She was proud to follow every command and even enforced the rules with new dogs that came into our home. Fletcher is very different. He is his own dog. Has never understood the concept of a command. Ever since Lia's aunt and uncle brought him home as a pup when they were in their early 80's (at our suggestion), I think Fletcher had the idea that a command was an invitation for oppositional play. He is 14 years, 2 months old. More would have been nice, but it is all a bloody miracle, in the non-religious sense of course.

What has made his rogue behavior acceptable is his social grace and confident but benign temperament. He is affectionate, but he's a giver. You can only pet him a little and he'll grab your hand and try to wash your freckles off with his tongue. My god but I'll miss his foot baths. He would wash between every toe and make my feet just tingle after a long walk. He is the kind of dog that makes you proud to be his friend and I'm sure he has changed the way I will interact with other dogs from now on. He has also been one hell of an example of how to approach life on your own terms and to revel in every moment. He'll be missed but I've learned too much from him to let that get me down.