Melancholy

Sad times at my house. We had to have our dog, Ricochet, put down this week. And after ten years of owning this collie, we were quite attached. As you may know, I LOVE dogs, but at times like this I tend to think it’d be better if I didn’t like them so much.

I’ve had other dogs, even other collies, but this one was the most gentle and nicest dog I’ve ever known—by far. She was great with the grandkids, even when they mistook her for a pony or thought she was their personal pillow, or anything else they could dream up for her to do. Whatever they did, she didn’t mind, I think she just loved the attention.

Although the last year was very hard on her, she never complained—other than moaning in her sleep—just went along with things the best she could. Her ailments were many, she couldn’t digest food very well, had trouble getting up, lying down, walking, and lately, even breathing. She was going blind and losing her hearing, as well as her sense of smell. And then few weeks ago, she started having seizures. It seemed like each week she was developing more issues. So, it was definitely time—but that doesn’t make it any easier. We’d put it off for quite a while, probably longer than we should have, but then we realized that was more for our benefit and not hers.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve lost a pet and it won’t be the last because we still have two dogs keeping us company. I think it gets harder with each one. Part of the reason, I think, is because not only is there a sense of loss from the one dog but it dredges up memories and feelings from the past and we get to feel the sadness of losing the other dogs all over again. Or maybe it’s due to my age, I don’t know. Whatever the reason, my wife and I have agreed, no more dogs. We just don’t want to go through that any more—and yes, we are acutely aware there will be two more to deal with at some point. A LONG time in the future, hopefully.

Note: I hope it’s all right that I took a break from my normally humorous posts to share some of my mournful sorrows from the past week. R.I.P. Ricochet. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million.