31st January 2008

He’s Gone

My beloved Max is gone from this physical world as of 12 something this afternoon.  His brothers, Misha and Monroe, and my sweet chow Cody, crowded around about half an hour beforehand in my room.  Monroe was oddly scared even though the doctor had not arrived yet.  He ran up to the room and hid for no apparent reason.

We climbed into bed and prayed to St. Francis to ease his spirit into the next world.  We sat on the ottoman next to the window where Max loved to lay and bask in the sunlight.  I took Max into my arms.  The doctor came with her assistant, and two shots later, Max was asleep peacefully in my arms.  My vet was so respectful - thank you Dr. Renee. 

My pet sitter was here to help with the dogs meanwhile.  I cut some of my hair and placed it in Max’s paws - which was a favorite soothing thing for Max to do.  Monroe seems to be the most curious and upset.  After I cried and cried and cried, and came downstairs with Max wrapped so sweetly in his towel and in his bag, Monroe came downstairs and cried as well.  He came up to the bag where Max lay peacefully in his towel, curled up, and yes, expired.  Monroe sniffed around the bag, along the top of the bag, and then he looked inside.  He looked at Max, carefully placed a paw inside, stepped on Max ever so gently, and licked his neck one last time, as if to say goodbye.  He was so incredibly sweet, so tearfully endearing - and thank God I witnessed it. 

Misha is on another level it seems.   He came up to the bag and looked inside, sniffed, and then walked away.  Cody did the same, licked at the carpet where the bag was previously, and then walked off.   Lucky, well she is oblivious to the pain any of us feel.  I suppose that in a way was a good thing.

Max tonight and tomorrow will be in Shoedinger’s Pet Cremation Services.  I will be able to witness the cremation this weekend, and take him home the same day.  I found them to be very, very respectful.

Max - I have cried hard to lose you, and to say goodbye to you today.  Thank you Max for nearly 17 years of pure unconditional love.   I will miss you so terribly much - but tonight I will celebrate your funny moments in life and your desire for the good life.  I have not cried this hard out loud for as long as I can remember.   We will all miss you woefully.

Leave a Reply

To reply to this article, please enter your name and write your comment in the textbox below. Some HTML tags are allowed, but others will be stripped if you enter them in your comments.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

More from Laura Thieme: