carter
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,921
- Location
- Corsicana, TX
It's hard for me to write this even hours after the fact but I want to say goodnight nad goodbye to an old friend. Please bear with me.
______________________________________________
Our old boy, Bucky, went home today.
When I left to pick my daughter up from dance class,
Bucky was asleep in my recliner by the door.
He slept there more and more the past year as his vision failed and stairs were too challenging.
He lived four years after someone threw rat poison over our fence and he ate it. At the time, the vet said he only had a month or two at best. He beat those odds by a mile.
But his health was failing. Bucky was getting old.
Bucky was the first dog we rescued many years ago. I picked him out but he was never just my dog. Bucky was a citizen of the heart. In his mind, everyone belonged to him. If he'd met a burglar, he'd have shown him the silver and offered a cup of coffee. He was just so darn glad to see you.
A Red Australian Shepherd, he had an engaging personality and a goofy grin. He carried one ear erect and the other floppy. He'd have looked at home in an old fedora. He fit right in our little family. He also never met a cat or a trashcan that he didn't like.
Bucky's love and enthusiasm knew no bounds. Everyone deserved a kiss or kisses. It was up to the recipient. When our daughter, who had heart surgery when she was four months old, would pull on his ears or use him for a pillow, he was a willing participant. He spread his love all over the house. Bucky would sleep with anyone. He seemed to know who needed him most.
If I didn't pay enough attention, Bucky would sit by my chair and rumble-grumble in his throat until I noticed. I'd rumble-grumble back and from there we'd escalate to full-on barking until I scratched his head. Somehow it always started at his head and ended up at the other end. I considered renaming him Butt Head but Bucky sure fit better.
We'd ride in the car together and Bucky's entire head, ears, tongue, and all would be out the window, flowing in the breeze. He lapped up every scent along the way. Bucky loved to go bye-bye. Move toward the door and his ears perked up. Ask him if he wanted to go for a ride and he bounded out the door and into the car.
Bucky didn't need a leash. He was going wherever you were going. If he could have spoken, his motto would have been, "If you ever leave me, I'm going with you!"
Aand now he's gone without us.
Death must have come quickly. I was only gone fifteen or twenty minutes. He was lying in my recliner when I left. I told him I'd be right back. When I opened the door, he was lying on the floor by the chair. I knew he was gone.
I sat on the floor and gathered him in my arms. He was still warm. I tolf him I was sorry that I hadn't been with him at the end. And I cried. In my heart, I still am.
Tomorrow, Bucky's physical body will be gone. His spirit, his essence left before we got home. But he'll live on in our memories and our hearts.
Goodbye Bucky.
I miss you.
:fedora:
______________________________________________
Our old boy, Bucky, went home today.
When I left to pick my daughter up from dance class,
Bucky was asleep in my recliner by the door.
He slept there more and more the past year as his vision failed and stairs were too challenging.
He lived four years after someone threw rat poison over our fence and he ate it. At the time, the vet said he only had a month or two at best. He beat those odds by a mile.
But his health was failing. Bucky was getting old.
Bucky was the first dog we rescued many years ago. I picked him out but he was never just my dog. Bucky was a citizen of the heart. In his mind, everyone belonged to him. If he'd met a burglar, he'd have shown him the silver and offered a cup of coffee. He was just so darn glad to see you.
A Red Australian Shepherd, he had an engaging personality and a goofy grin. He carried one ear erect and the other floppy. He'd have looked at home in an old fedora. He fit right in our little family. He also never met a cat or a trashcan that he didn't like.
Bucky's love and enthusiasm knew no bounds. Everyone deserved a kiss or kisses. It was up to the recipient. When our daughter, who had heart surgery when she was four months old, would pull on his ears or use him for a pillow, he was a willing participant. He spread his love all over the house. Bucky would sleep with anyone. He seemed to know who needed him most.
If I didn't pay enough attention, Bucky would sit by my chair and rumble-grumble in his throat until I noticed. I'd rumble-grumble back and from there we'd escalate to full-on barking until I scratched his head. Somehow it always started at his head and ended up at the other end. I considered renaming him Butt Head but Bucky sure fit better.
We'd ride in the car together and Bucky's entire head, ears, tongue, and all would be out the window, flowing in the breeze. He lapped up every scent along the way. Bucky loved to go bye-bye. Move toward the door and his ears perked up. Ask him if he wanted to go for a ride and he bounded out the door and into the car.
Bucky didn't need a leash. He was going wherever you were going. If he could have spoken, his motto would have been, "If you ever leave me, I'm going with you!"
Aand now he's gone without us.
Death must have come quickly. I was only gone fifteen or twenty minutes. He was lying in my recliner when I left. I told him I'd be right back. When I opened the door, he was lying on the floor by the chair. I knew he was gone.
I sat on the floor and gathered him in my arms. He was still warm. I tolf him I was sorry that I hadn't been with him at the end. And I cried. In my heart, I still am.
Tomorrow, Bucky's physical body will be gone. His spirit, his essence left before we got home. But he'll live on in our memories and our hearts.
Goodbye Bucky.
I miss you.
:fedora:
