Now Cracks A Noble Heart. Good Night Sweet Prince...
Jun 28, 2023 16:26:53 GMT -5
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Thunder69, victor1941, and 6 more like this
Post by jasoninsd on Jun 28, 2023 16:26:53 GMT -5
...and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Yesterday morning I was getting ready to go to work and out of the blue Trigger started acting lethargic and breathing heavy. On the way to work I called my wife to tell her and she said she was coming home to take him to the vet. I told her to keep me updated.
I had to go measure a customer's house and was just leaving when I got the call from my wife. Trigger had a cancerous tumor the size of a grapefruit on his spleen. The vet said they could operate, but with the kind of cancer it was, it would simply spread like wildfire. She said he was in...and had been in pain for awhile...but he never really indicated anything was wrong.
The vet gave him some pain medicine which allowed us one more night with him.
I got back to the store and through tears told my manager I needed to go and why. He started to tear up...which meant a lot to me.
I got home...hugged my wife...then got on the floor and held Trigger. I could tell he had had a sedative of some kind...but he was still there. After the long hug with him, I got up, went to the fridge and poured chocolate syrup into my hand. I took it over and let him lick every drop off. He'd been smelling chocolate his whole life and never got to taste it...I said I'll be damned if he was going to leave this world not knowing the taste of chocolate! I repeated this several times throughout the night and into this morning!
I don't think I've cried so many tears ever in my life as I have yesterday and today. The vet staff couldn't have been more compassionate. I went in the office this morning bawling like a baby and the gal said I must be Trigger's dad. I nodded....filled out the paperwork (never able to utter a word) and went back outside to be with Trigger and my wife. In too short of a time the vet came out to the vehicle and very tenderly put Trigger to sleep. We were able to park so his last view was of a field of grass filled with trees.
I had called my father-in-law yesterday and asked if we could bury Trigger out at the farm. He said he would take care of everything out there. He got the neighbor to bring over the backhoe and dug a nice grave.
After my wife and I were able to compose ourselves sufficiently to drive, we headed out to the farm. Her sister had spent yesterday making a cross for Trigger's grave. We had a service (of sorts) with her family there with us. My mom had brought over a bouquet of flowers last night from her yard. She said they were the ones Trigger liked to pee on when he went over to her house. We placed the bouquet on the grave and on the cross. After the family left, it was just my wife and I and I played this song:
For as much smack as I've talked about him on the forum, I loved that guy more than any other dog I've had. I have had to watch my mouth ever since we got him. He knew swear words...and didn't like them. I used to call him our Mormon dog all the time. (If you're Mormon, don't take offense...I could have picked any religion...). I'd always have to apologize to him if I let one slip and he heard. It was kind of like having a swear jar!
That dang dog was a third of our household...and there's already so many noticeable things missing. When my wife and I would go to the store or run errands, it was a "contest" to see who would first say "Don't worry Trig, we're coming". On the drive home from the farm today, neither of us could say it...but we were both thinking it.
We got home and wandered around aimlessly for a bit. I finally said we needed to eat something since we hadn't since Monday. We heated up some leftovers and I suggested we turn on the TV as a distraction. We picked a channel and the show immediately went to commercials. Two commercials about cancer...and another for Purina Dog Food. My wife and I looked at each other and both said "WTF?"...then we realized at the same time we actually could say that without getting the look from the Mormon!
I'll miss a lot of things about Trigger. The way he would eat carrots (VERY loud crunching), the way he hated the UPS drivers...and the way he'd act like a tired three-year-old at bedtime!
Carrots:
UPS Driver:
Bedtime:
Thanks for letting me vent...but this is breaking my heart right now. I don't believe I will ever change my avatar...
Yesterday morning I was getting ready to go to work and out of the blue Trigger started acting lethargic and breathing heavy. On the way to work I called my wife to tell her and she said she was coming home to take him to the vet. I told her to keep me updated.
I had to go measure a customer's house and was just leaving when I got the call from my wife. Trigger had a cancerous tumor the size of a grapefruit on his spleen. The vet said they could operate, but with the kind of cancer it was, it would simply spread like wildfire. She said he was in...and had been in pain for awhile...but he never really indicated anything was wrong.
The vet gave him some pain medicine which allowed us one more night with him.
I got back to the store and through tears told my manager I needed to go and why. He started to tear up...which meant a lot to me.
I got home...hugged my wife...then got on the floor and held Trigger. I could tell he had had a sedative of some kind...but he was still there. After the long hug with him, I got up, went to the fridge and poured chocolate syrup into my hand. I took it over and let him lick every drop off. He'd been smelling chocolate his whole life and never got to taste it...I said I'll be damned if he was going to leave this world not knowing the taste of chocolate! I repeated this several times throughout the night and into this morning!
I don't think I've cried so many tears ever in my life as I have yesterday and today. The vet staff couldn't have been more compassionate. I went in the office this morning bawling like a baby and the gal said I must be Trigger's dad. I nodded....filled out the paperwork (never able to utter a word) and went back outside to be with Trigger and my wife. In too short of a time the vet came out to the vehicle and very tenderly put Trigger to sleep. We were able to park so his last view was of a field of grass filled with trees.
I had called my father-in-law yesterday and asked if we could bury Trigger out at the farm. He said he would take care of everything out there. He got the neighbor to bring over the backhoe and dug a nice grave.
After my wife and I were able to compose ourselves sufficiently to drive, we headed out to the farm. Her sister had spent yesterday making a cross for Trigger's grave. We had a service (of sorts) with her family there with us. My mom had brought over a bouquet of flowers last night from her yard. She said they were the ones Trigger liked to pee on when he went over to her house. We placed the bouquet on the grave and on the cross. After the family left, it was just my wife and I and I played this song:
For as much smack as I've talked about him on the forum, I loved that guy more than any other dog I've had. I have had to watch my mouth ever since we got him. He knew swear words...and didn't like them. I used to call him our Mormon dog all the time. (If you're Mormon, don't take offense...I could have picked any religion...). I'd always have to apologize to him if I let one slip and he heard. It was kind of like having a swear jar!
That dang dog was a third of our household...and there's already so many noticeable things missing. When my wife and I would go to the store or run errands, it was a "contest" to see who would first say "Don't worry Trig, we're coming". On the drive home from the farm today, neither of us could say it...but we were both thinking it.
We got home and wandered around aimlessly for a bit. I finally said we needed to eat something since we hadn't since Monday. We heated up some leftovers and I suggested we turn on the TV as a distraction. We picked a channel and the show immediately went to commercials. Two commercials about cancer...and another for Purina Dog Food. My wife and I looked at each other and both said "WTF?"...then we realized at the same time we actually could say that without getting the look from the Mormon!
I'll miss a lot of things about Trigger. The way he would eat carrots (VERY loud crunching), the way he hated the UPS drivers...and the way he'd act like a tired three-year-old at bedtime!
Carrots:
UPS Driver:
Bedtime:
Thanks for letting me vent...but this is breaking my heart right now. I don't believe I will ever change my avatar...