Sadly, I had to take Barley to the vet on Friday to end his suffering. He had stopped eating even the hand fed boneless chicken breast and the maximum level of pain relievers weren't blocking out all his pain. Rather than have him waste away and suffer further we decided it was best for him to sleep, and the vet agreed. I know that he is in a better place, but I still feel awful about having to do what I did. And, Laura, Cocoa (our other golden) and I all miss him terribly. At least we had beautiful weather on Friday, and we managed to take several walks, ride in the truck, played a little in the yard and even managed to eat a few treats before the final ride to the vet. I've never had a more intelligent, loyal, dedicated dog. He knew I was sad, and we all always enjoy going for walks, so he kept asking to go for another walk shortly after we just finished one, despite his pain and weakness.
We have 4 feet of snow on the ground, and the frost is too deep for me to bury him now. We are having his body cremated and this spring will bury his remains on a little hill overlooking the lake he spent so much time in looking for fish and frogs.
I know that we will get another dog in time, probably even another golden retriever, but no matter how wonderful it is it will never replace our golden Barley boy in our hearts. IF I've learned anything from these last weeks with him, it has reminded me to look for the simple pleasures in everyday things, to get up a little earlier in the mornings and enjoy the sunrise with a friend, and always take an opportunity to have a little adventure whenever it presents itself.
Barley and I will go for long walks in the sun again someday, I'm sure. He always waited for me to catch up to him at the next trail junction, and I expect that he still will.
Topic: Another dear friend approaches the end (Read 3011 times)