All Dogs Go to Heaven.

"I guess you don't really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease."

-Joe Garagiola

 

It was January 2001.

Brandon and I had been dating for about 8 months.

 

His parents had moved to South Dakota, so he was living with a roommate.

 

I wanted a dog.

 

My parents always said no to the idea, probably because they never knew what animal my brothers could be bringing home on weekends home from college.

 

I had Brandon.

Brandon doesn't know how to say no to me.

 

We headed to the local animal shelters.

We settled on a sweet puppy, and named her Hollywood.

Unfortunately, Hollywood had parvo, and died soon after.

 

I was heartbroken.

But determined to have a dog.

Again, we searched the animal shelters, and then found one.

 

There was a sweet little dog, sitting there, wanting a home.

His brother's and sister's had all found new homes, so he sat there, lonely, with the cutest little face, and longing in his eyes.

 

A cocker spaniel & lab mix.

Adorable.

 

He was mine.

 

We named him Trouble.

And he lived up to his name.

In between somehow losing part of his tongue,

or digging out of the fence... he was always up to something.

Yet, at the same time, he was amazingly caring & loyal.
Feeling blue? Trouble would be there.

Sick? Trouble wouldn't leave your side.

 

In 2002, I decided to move to South Dakota for school (& yes, Mom & Dad- Brandon).

Trouble came with us.

Since I was in a dorm, he lived at my inlaws house.

My mother in law suffers from RSD, and during those first few years in Sioux Falls, she almost died many times from the side effects of the medication & her pain.

Trouble was there. Right by her side.

He would sit for hours next to her.

He would bother one of us when something was wrong.

When Bonnie was hospitalized, he moped. Cried.

When she was home, he went back to what he thought was his duty- being her dog.

 

At first, I felt like I had lost him.

My sweet dog, my dog with Brandon, gone.

But then I realized how important he was to my mother in law.

 

Trouble suffered many health problems through the years.

Maybe this is why Bonnie & Trouble were so close... they could understand the suffering.

And there were times when we didn't think he'd make it through the night.

Or times, when we thought maybe he should be put down.

But he would spring back after medication, and go right back to be loyal & amazing.

 

As the years went by, he was introduced to my 3 kiddos, my dog Elphie, and his new playmate, a dog named Greta.

He did so well with each change.

 

When my pain started, he knew.

I would visit, and he'd be there for me.

Sitting next to me, not wanting to leave my side.

 

He became blind. Deaf.

Couldn't see in front of him, and had to be led by tapping sounds to get to the door,

but still, amazingly loyal, and able to sense when thing were wrong.

 

Last week, Bonnie informed me that she had scheduled an appointment to have him put down.

His struggles with breathing (his trachea was flattened in one part) were becoming unbearable, and he was having to be drugged more.

 

I looked at Trouble.

Almost 12 years old.

Suffering.

But still loyal.

 

I thought about how excited I was when I adopted him.

How he could be really annoying sometimes, and how much his breath could clear a room...

I thought of how he knew when someone needed his companionship.

And I knelt down and hugged him.

And it was a moment, that reminds me of "Homeward Bound" when Shadow sits there with Peter hugging his neck and says, "I love you."

It felt like Trouble knew what was happening, and was telling me it was okay.

He was ready.

 

Yesterday was the day.

My mother in law took Trouble in, and said good-bye.

 

I thought about it all day.

And avoided seeing him one last time.

 

I brought flowers to Bonnie today.

I cried the second I walked in the door.

The house was smaller, somehow.

 

And in Trouble's passing, it felt like another piece of what used-to-be was gone.
That adorble puppy, that commitment to raise an animal together, had died.

 

I told the kids that Trouble had gone to heaven.

Samantha said "it's okay, Mom. He's up there with Grandpa Joel's dog, and he's having fun."

 

Trouble,

You'll be missed.

Thank you for loving all of us.

Thank you for your loyalty.

I hope you're having fun.

 

 

 

"The dog of your boyhood teaches you a great deal about friendship, and love, and death: Old Skip was my brother. They had buried him under our elm tree, they said — yet this wasn't totally true. For he really lay buried in my heart."

(Willie Morris - 'My Dog Skip')

 

Melissa