saying goodbye to a dear friend

October 5, 2006

Today has been an extra hard one for us. We had to say goodbye to our beloved

Australian Shepard just over an hour ago. The pain is still fresh, and deep.

Tessie finally succumbed to lymphomatic cancer, something we had feared but

honestly hadn't seen the warning signs of until too late. As we held her in our

arms, hearing her labored breathing amidst sneezes of blood, we all knew it was

time to say goodbye...and I know she did too. But that doesn't make it any

easier for those of us left behind. Her motto was always " how can I please

these people. " It was just built into her DNA. And she nearly always did.

And as we " put her down " I was struck, yet again, with how fleeting this life

is. Now its here, and then its gone. Such a miracle it is, and so fragile and

precious. And as we watched her breath her last through our tears and she

become peaceful again, we could only bask in gratitude of having her as part of

our lives these last thirteen years. The vet nurse, who cried too, even having

been through this dozens of times, said: " it never gets easier. " Then she said

something that I'll long remember: " I wish we could be this humane to people. "

The compassion of that statement struck me as profound....and true.

The house feels so dreadfully empty now.

Greg

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