Number 27

I remember when I was just about the age that Jaylinne is now, I had to learn the hard way that living where we did, losing our four-legged friends was not a rare occurrence. We had a gray miniature schnauser, named Bert. He wasn't what you would call an old dog, but he was no puppy either. It seemed like no matter how hard you tried to keep 'em in, they were trying equally as hard to get out and run around! Unfortunately, Bert is the first Geneva Road casualty that I can remember. Being so young, I didn't fully understand the situation. I knew that I couldn't see my dog anymore, and I didn't get to say goodbye. As it would anyone, that made me sad. My Grannie, God rest her soul, tried to soften the blow for my sister and I the best she knew how: explaining that Bert would now be in heaven. She really got the point across when she took us to see the movie, "All Dogs Go To Heaven." Being that it all happened around Christmas time, she even sent us a Christmas card...from Bert! Doggie Heaven sounded like a party! :) It was just a few small gestures, however it made an impact on our lives.

I am very thankful for this lesson, as I was able to use it on my own Daughter. Yesterday was a pretty rough day for me and my family. We had to make the decision of putting one of our four-legged friends, Arnie, out of his misery. Let me give you a little bit of history about Arnie:

He has been part of our family for 15 years. We got him, as a "puppy," as soon as he was old enough to be away from his Momma. You'll notice I use the term puppy loosely. You see, Arnie was a Bernese Mountain Dog- or in lamens terms, big as hell. From a young age, he was what you'd call a runner. If he needed to get somewhere, he was running. The Forrest Gump of the dog world, if you will. He loved to run so much, in fact, that on more than a few occasions, he had to be picked him up from the pound. He had to be sprung from the klink so many times, they even had a name for him: number 27. Much to our surprise, we also learned the hard way that he was a digger. A runner...and a digger?! A moment of silence is in order for the elaborate gardens and the Halloween decorations throughout the neighborhood that fell victim to Ol' Number 27... ;) No one is more sorry about those than him.

Given his size and stature, people were often afraid of him and thought he was mean right off the bat. However, he was quite the anomaly. He wouldn't hurt a fly. In fact, he was even afraid of mice! The other dogs that were in our family were chihuahuas. In the real world, the biggest dog is usually king. Not this time- bless his heart, he was afraid of the chihuahuas too!

He loved people, but most of all, he loved kids. Being a mother myself, I would- for lack of a better term- shit frisbees, if I saw a dog of his size coming towards my child. Hell, let's be real here, if a dog his size that I wasn't familiar with came towards me, I would panic. But he had a special way with kids. No matter how excited he got when they were around, he always knew to be gentle, and keep his paws on the floor. And he was definitely not one to be stingy with his kisses.

Here he is with Baby Dalys. Always so gentle :)

So you can imagine how hard it was for us to make this decision. He was old. He had cancerous tumors. He had trouble walking. Although it made each of us sad, we knew it was time. It was the humane thing to do. Rather than take him to an unfamiliar place, and leave him alone, we decided it was best if it was done at home. That's where he would be most comfortable, and more importantly, he could be surrounded by the people who loved him. Ryan and I decided to break the news to Jaylinne so she could say her goodbyes. Although she was very sad at first, and there were lots of tears shed, she wanted to go play with him one last time.

Catching a little snooze on a nice fall day.

So we stopped at McDonalds, got a Happy Meal for Arnie, and made our way down to my mom and dad's house. When we got there, Jaylinne gave him the biggest hug she could, and told him she loved him. In an effort to console my mom, who was crying, Jaylinne said to her, "It's OK, Grandma. Even though we won't get to see him everyday, we still get to see him in our memories." At that moment, I felt a sense of peace. I was grateful the talk we had with her earlier stuck :) It was a good day. It was a beautiful day outside, we all got to spend time with him reminiscing, and he even got to eat a happy meal! Which was soon followed by a slice of pizza he was able to swipe from Dayne and Dalys. Again, no one was more sorry about that than him ;) Although I was heartbroken, I knew I had to be strong. For Arnie. So when the time came, his head was resting in my lap and I comforted him the best way I knew how, while my dad did the same and held onto his paw. I'm very thankful that when he went, he went surrounded by his family, and could feel how much he was loved. Here's to hoping that all dogs, really do indeed, go to Heaven.

See you on the other side, Number 27. We'll sure miss you.