This has been a really, really bad day.
We had to put our family dog, Big Red, down today. He is by no means a ‘spring chicken’, but he had a stroke a few weeks ago and lost mobility in his front left leg. He was about 70 pounds at his best, so he was a pretty big dog. But lately you could see that he was losing weight. And since his stroke, he had lost about 15 pounds. My mom would pick him up and carry him outside to go to the bathroom and she would hand feed him when he was too tired to sit up and eat.
Today was the day we all realized that his suffering was so beyond our ability to help that we, as a family, took him out to the vet and had him put down. My brother and my husband dug a grave out at our family farm next to our other childhood dog, Katie.
Right before Big Red went, my mom asked if Big Red would watch over Jonah and give him a ride.
It broke my heart. Even more.
for my sweet boy, jonah 
I am so sorry for your losses. I’ve not lost a child but I have lost a dog–and that hurts more than I ever thought possible. It took me 30 years to get another one . . . . I’ll keep you in my prayers.
Thank you for keeping me in my prayers. Pets are apart of our families and it is always hard to lose them. Always hard, but especially hard for me now. Thank you for your kind words.
Oh I am so sorry. Big Red is quite a handsome man. Ridgeback? Red Tick Coonhound? I can’t take my eyes off of him. He is clearly a special dog. I will be sending you good thoughts and lots of love. Hugs…
Well, he was a rescue dog so we never know exactly what he is. But we always thought he was a vizsla mix. He was a special dog. He was a certified therapy dog that went into our local schools and nursing homes all the time. We will miss him…
I hope you had a good day today.
Oh, they have been pretty good days! Thank you though 🙂
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