A Sad Goodbye to a Loyal Friend

There is something special about a relationship between a loyal dog and his owner. I am not the type person that likes it when other people's animals crawl all over me or jump all over me.  I do, however, love my own dogs, even if they can cause mischief at times. There is something special about the selfless love a dog gives to his owner. They love as if they are forever grateful. They love as if they are forever protective and they live to please you and comfort you. Wow, what if we exhibited this type of selfless love to each other? Strange to say that a good dog is a good example of selfless love.
Tonight is our last evening to spend with our dog Max. We found out today that he has cancer in the bone of his shoulder. It is quite a rapid growing kind of cancer. He has been in quite a lot of unexplained pain over the past few months off and on. He is a large dog and almost 11 years old. So rather than have him undergo radiation and leg amputation, we have decided to put him down tomorrow morning.
I remember when we first got Max. We had only been married a few months, and lived in a small apartment. Someone had left a box of puppies behind a bush just outside of an animal hospital. So I guess he was a rescue dog. At the time, our five month old dog, Molly, had been in obedience school at the animal hospital because of her cantankerous behavior. A few weeks before we got Max, the animal hospital had advertised that they had puppies to give away. They were cute puppies, but I was in no way about to take one of them. Slowly, one by one, most all of the puppies had found homes...all except Max...who had been described as the aggressive one. The leader of the pack. We finished our obedience training for Molly and had decided on having her spayed. Earle was the one who took her to have her spayed that morning. He called me later and told me that there was one puppy left in that litter.  He told me that he wanted me to see the puppy when we picked Molly up. I had no desire. We got there after work that evening and they brought Molly out. I was hoping that Earle had forgotten about showing me the puppy. Of course he had not forgotten. He asked the lady to bring Max out. So out came this cute puppy. I wanted to say no. We lived in a small apartment with a dog that was wild(Molly). But something in me couldn't say no. I guess he knew I would not have been able to resist Max.  He just looked at me like, "please say yes, and I'll always be good to you." So I did. Even though I had been warned that others did not take him because he was aggressive. He was quite the mischief maker. When Max was a puppy I would walk into my bedroom and find pillows and comforters lying as flat as a sheet while the room was covered in white stuffing.  I would find large chunks of wood chewed out of window moldings and other things. He could undo a latch from the other side of a crate with ease, and get out of his crate while we were at work, only for us to come home and find the whole place bombed with defecation. We had to put a locked padlock on his crate as a puppy, and eventually he figured out how to get that open as well. On occasion I would walk into my closet and gasp at the smell of urine, where he had marked my entire bottom rack of clothes. Oh the fury!!
But even with all of that tom foolery, Max ended up being the most gentle, kind, and loyal dog. He never growled at us, ever, in anger or aggression. He would growl when he was tired..sort of a, "don't bug me" growl, but never mean. He lived to please and protect us, and I think especially me. When Earle would be out of town with work, he would jump up into Earle's spot in the bed. While I was pregnant with Collin, Max sort of became my shadow. Following me around to make sure that I was okay. He has ever since. Although he has caused messes and mischief, he was well worth taking. From the get go, Max let Molly take the lead, he let her eat first, always. He let her speak for both of them for a long time. I had to learn to listen to what he was trying to tell me because he had such a quiet, non intrusive way of communicating his needs. Once I sort of figured out how to listen to him, I think we made a special connection. He has been like a guardian to the soul. He has lived through many moves and transitions in the Brown home. Sweet Max, we will love and miss you, but we don't want you to suffer. Thank you for making your paw print on our hearts and being such a good example of loyal, and selfless love. You have blessed our lives with your gentle spirit.
Tonight Max had a rib eye steak for dinner, along with a granola bar, and his pain pills were covered in a fluffy cloud of whipped cream. I think he'll have a bacon-wrapped fillet mignon for breakfast before we go in the morning. I can't really think of any other way to honor him, but I think it will make him happy.

I'll be honest, the glowing green eyes kind of freaked me out, but I could not get a picture without it. They seemed extra glowing, and I could not edit them out.

~CB