Snoopy, my faithful companion of 17 years (January 24, 1993 - January 30, 2010) was laid to rest yesterday. It was the most difficult decision to make, and even though I am incredibly sad and miss her so much, I know it was the right time.
Snoopy was born in the shed at the house where I grew up. She was one of 9 puppies in an 'accidental litter' (the neighbor's dog dug under our fence, and next thing you know, our amazingly stubborn 80 lb Chow/Rottweiler had more puppies than we knew what to do with). Rottie, Snoopy's sister who was with us until last March, was born 4th, and Snoopy was #7/8 (she had a twin that didn't live for more than a few days) and the runt of the litter did not make it either. Snoopy was always a unique dog...did not want to stay with anyone but me. We tried to find her a home, but she was returned to us, twice, for refusing to eat and being so scared that she would just hide in the yard. My parents knew that Snoopy needed to stay.
Before Snoopy was a year old, someone opened the back gate to our yard and let our four dogs (Snoopy, Rottie, their mom 'Copper', and our other dog Osa) loose. My dad just happened to be coming home for lunch that day and saw a group of dogs standing in the road. As he got closer, he realized those were our dogs, and that Snoopy was laying in the road. She had been struck by a car and the other dogs had formed a circle around her to keep her safe. My dad rushed her to the vet, and that night Snoopy was sent home. We were told she would recover better where she felt safe. I will never forget the image of my poor battered puppy...a scar above her left eye, mostly lost vision in that same eye, and a missing bottom left canine. She would forever more have an adorable crooked smile and her tongue would hang out of her mouth.
Well, as all of you know, Snoopy obviously recovered from the car accident. She continued to amaze us with her determination to live indoors when we moved to a new house. We had a chain link dog run built on the side for Snoopy and Rottie, yet somehow Snoopy would be sitting outside the back door when I got home from school. We soon realized that Snoopy would put her feet in the fence and climb right over!
So we put Snoopy in the walled enclosure where the pool was. the front was wrought iron so you could see the pool from the back porch. Snoopy dug under the fence; so my parents put concrete down. Then Snoopy squeezed through the bars next to the wall (maybe a 5 inch gap!). We anchored an L shaped piece of metal to the wall. She was so determined, that she did earn her way to being a house-dog. That was probably 10-11 years ago!
As Snoopy got older, she lost almost all her hearing...and slowly got cataracts in both eyes. She lost a few more teeth to dental disease, but none of this stopped her from always being by my side. No matter what apartment, and then house I moved to, she always wanted to be with me. She always learned where the furniture was and walked slowly around it. Even just a few days ago, she was so happy when I got home that she ran around the house like the little maniac I always knew.
But life was starting to pass Snoopy by. She was unable to go for regular walks with us. I worried about her tripping and not being able to get up without help. She became very picky about food...only ate when I mixed dry and wet food and served it to her with a spoon. I began to realize that I was keeping her here by forcing her to eat twice a day, but her little body was mostly done. At the prime of her life she was 45 lbs. Back in Nov. the scale at the vet showed '29.5'.
As strong as Snoopy was, it was not worth her living out the rest of her life in that condition. We made the choice to take her to the vet and allow her to be with Rottie again.
Even through the tears, I know Snoopy is running and jumping again. She is barking and racing in circles enjoying her life once more.
And so today, we tell Snoopy, our amazing friend, goodbye once more!
