A Sad Farewell

After many months (maybe years) of discussion, debate and procrastination we finally had our old dog, Cruiser, put to sleep on Saturday.  No one wanted to be the one to finally say it had to happen or to make it happen.  R has been saying that he was depressed by seeing him the way he had become.  He finally said someone needed to man up and take care of it, and he ended up being the man.  On Friday, the vet was out to Bang's vaccinate our replacement heifers.  He comes down from Canada and was planning to stay overnight so he and R made a date for Saturday morning.  R also needed to take his dog, Trip, in for some shots.

M made pancakes for breakfast (usually a Sunday morning thing) because Cruiser LOVED pancakes.  We were going to let him into the entryway to eat his share, but he couldn't get up the two steps from the garage into the house.  R and M loaded him up in the kennel and into the pickup and off they went.  While they were gone, I attempted to find the grave we had dug in the fall (like I said, we'd been contemplating this for awhile) under two feet of snow.  I didn't really have much trouble finding out and dug the snow out of it.

M wasn't here when R returned and R didn't have his boots on so I had to bury the dog by myself after carrying him across the yard and over snowbanks.  It was an exhausting process but I did it.  I started filling in the hole but got pooped out so waited for M to come home and we finished it together.  Well, we finished it until spring when we'll have to do a better job.  It was a cold, snowy, blowy depressing day.  We'll plan a little service for him in the spring and put out a marker.

I always said that he ruined us for all other dogs.  He had the best disposition, so calm, so obedient, so loving.  He was my walking companion and will be missed so much, not just by me but by the whole family.