Attention may be one of the best ways to show affection, but it cannot be the only way. For, in spite of my dearth of entries over the past two months, I really do love this blog and interactions with all of you. Shall I offer excuses? They do exist. They begin with the expected busy-ness and home-centeredness of December, climax with our family having to put to sleep our beloved dog, Godiva, six short days before Christmas, and end with a melancholic January, filled with rain and the sadness of loss. During this period, all of my energy has gone to pastoring and nurturing. Creative arts, including writing, had to take a backseat.
Now though, we have reached a new February in a brand new decade (Happy new year!). And I find that I have many things I want to write about. In the coming weeks, look for posts about animals and God, schooling decisions (B— starts kindergarten in the fall), celebrating Valentine’s Day, and creating Lenten family rituals. As always, I look forward to sharing with and learning from you all.
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17/02/2010 at 10:53 am Permalink
Hey there Stranger,
I check in periodically to see if you have made any new entries. I am glad to see that you are going to get back at it with your blog entries, but terribly sad to hear about Godiva. I can truly sympathize. My family had to make the same difficult decision 3 years ago with my beloved Poochie. After 17 years she was my best friend and truly a member of the Karras family.
There is one thing that my brother told me that helped me cope that I’d like to share with you. He knows a lot about dog psychology, and seems to understand them better than people most of the time. They are simple creatures, you know, and that is one of the things that makes them wonderful. He explained to me that when humans get sick, they understand why they have to endure the poking, prodding and discomfort of diagnosis and treatment, and know that it is all with the aim of getting better. This knowledge helps drive a persons will to survive the whole process. But Dogs and cats don’t understand what is happening. In their minds, they are being tortured with needles and surgeries. And especially with incurable diseases, that at best offer a lifetime of treatment, it may help the owner by delaying their sorrow, allowing them to come to grips with the potential loss, but the pet just suffers and receives no benefit. So in a lot of ways, even with money as no object, the most unselfish decision you can make is to put your four legged loved one out of its misery. Any money you happen to save is just a side benefit.
Like you said it is difficult to have to make “life decisions for a vital being”. I think it’s one of the hardest decisions a person can ever make. I want you to know that in my humble opinion, I think you absolutely did the right thing. More specifically, you gave Godiva a good life and a loving home for a lot of years and in the end, even though it was painful for you, you made the right decision for her.
I hope you have a wonderful New Year and New Decade. Hope to hear more from you soon.
Love,
-France
02/03/2010 at 11:15 am Permalink
France,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. A part that particularly resonates with me is that dogs do not have the ability to understand continual pain or the pain of corresponding treatments.
In the end, we did not base any of our decisions on finances (thankfully). We treated Godiva for a time with insulin to manage her diabetes. But, because of the Cushing’s, etc., the treatments made little difference. When we put her to sleep it was because she was dying miserably. And we simply did not want her to be in such pain. Interestingly, I kept seeking the moment when I would clearly know what to do. That moment came. But, of course, we still miss her. As I am sure you still miss your Pooches. Thank you for sharing your experience and your thoughts. It means a lot to me.