We've been talking about getting another dog soon so we could overlap life spans, but we didn't get around to it in time. Our dog Beowulf passed away on March 25th, 2011 after acting a bit sick for less than a day. It was so sudden and unexpected. He was still going strong at 11 years old. Just the day before he had traipsed through the neighborhood when I forgot and left the front door open to welcome the spring breeze into the house. Like a good dog, he came back when I called. That same week he had chased a cat out of the yard that I thought was casing the chickens. The night before he passed away, he was loved up by our friends who have four children. They don't have their own dog and Beo always got some good rubs and scratches in hard to reach places from them. I was so glad that it didn't happened while we were out of town. We had been in and out of the house all day, running errands and visiting cousins down the street at Nana's and Papa's house. I came home for some lettuce to add to a salad and found him in the backyard sleeping. He was warm and soft as if he had just lain down. It was too surreal as the chickens gathered near him and sunlight bathed the yard.
Yesterday we buried his ashes deep in the roots on the other side of the tree where we buried Grendel. It reminded us of the way she used to hide behind the rocks at our last house and hop out sideways with her tail straight up and ambush Beo or another unsuspecting dog on the sidewalk. Sometimes she would deliver a quick clawless rat-ta-tat-tat on their nose and then run away. It is fitting now that they both rest near each other.
We still think we've forgotten to let him in when we hear another dog bark outside. We still try not to trip on him in the dark when we go to bed. I still worry about leaving food on the table because he might climb up there while we're gone. And the crumbs under Boo's high chair are definitely adding up without his help in that arena. There’s no one to give meat scraps to and no dog leaning in on you for a scratch when you sit down and cross your legs. No wet nose in your hand when you weren’t expecting it and no dog hair on the floor. Perhaps I shouldn’t be sad about that last one, but I am. That mutt gave our home a furry soul.
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| Beowulf- Adopted Jan. 8th, 2000 - Mar. 25th 2011 |
You really said it all, having lost a dear furry friend, your post has filled me with feelings of loss, love, and gratitude. I don't mean to minimize the pain and loss but it does seem like his passing was peaceful and almost lovely.
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