Goodbye Linus
We said goodbye to Linus yesterday. He was a great dog, faithful and true for sixteen of the eighteen years we’ve been married. He helped us raise three girls and only ever wanted love returned in kind.
The last three years were hard for the "little boy", as we called him. He had a number of ailments, and the quality of his life diminished greatly. I knew this day was coming; I knew we would have to make that last trip to the vet.
A good friend told me I would know when it was time. He was right. Yesterday morning Linus was sleeping at the back door and had something between a seizure and a dream. I tried to wake him, but he didn't respond at first. I moved his head, and it was limp and heavy in my hands, a sad premonition of what was to come.
I sat and talked to him for a few minutes. "Little boy, how you doin?" I looked into his eyes, and I knew. I knew it was time.
The three sisters came home from school and said their goodbyes. There were many tears and a flurry of little girl hugs. These are the children who grew up on his watch. He was patient with them when they were babies, tolerating the pulled hair and awkward pats. Yesterday they were gentle, just as he trained them to be.
Then came the last car trip. He was trusting as always, laying his life in our hands. There was a somber conversation with the vet, and then she brought out a box of tissues and a needle.
For sixteen years I’ve held my left hand under his muzzle and looked into his eyes. I did this one last time while his head grew heavy, heavier, heaviest.
I liked feeling the weight of that heavy, shaggy head. It felt like trust in my hand. I didn't want to lay his head on the tabletop and slip my hand out from under it. I didn't want to.
Goodbye Linus. God rest you wherever it is that doggies go. God rest your faithful little bones. There always was a wonderful goodness in you.
Linus - 1987
Go get your glove, boy!
~P
12:50:06 AM 
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