Saying goodbye to Simon.
Before taking Simon in, the girls and I spent some time just loving him. He got special treats, lots of hugs, and lots of petting. We told him that we love him, that he has been a wonderful dog, and that we are going to miss him.
I believe animals, and especially dogs, can sense things. I wonder what he thought? Did he understand? Was he sad too, or grateful, or both? Probably both. I hope he wasn't frightened.
We were with him as he went to sleep, petting, hugging, and talking to him. I don't know if he could hear us, he was deaf, but I hoped that he was granted just a little hearing back to hear us comforting him and telling him that we love him. At least I know he felt our hands and hugs. :)
Last night, Ryan posted some thoughts on his MySpace blog, but since I don't think anyone can read it, I'll repost it here:
Today was a sad day.
There was a successful attempt to assassinate our dog. This champion of home protection and child happiness was silenced in the twilight of his years (15 or 16 total). In the end, he was his own enemy. Literally. If we hadn't put him down, he probably would have chewed his own end off...I'll let you figure it out.
I would like to share a few memories of our good and faithful dog:
We acquired Simon in 1998 from a family in Idaho who wanted to give him away because they lived on a range and Simon was constantly running down to the road where cars would often go speeding by. They were afraid that he was going to get run over and chaining him up all the time was not the best solution. When we first got him, we didn't think he could bark since he never did. It was months before he first barked around us. After a while, he became comfortable around us and barked like a normal dog and became our faithful guard dog.
We had a cat back then, named Tigger. Simon would copy what the cat would do and go pouncing around the back yard chasing butterflies and crickets. Simon also took a liking to cat food. Tigger did not think much of that. After a couple swipes with his claw, Simon started to learn some manners. A couple more items the dog learned from the cat was jumping in laps and sleeping at our feet on the bed. Let's just say the dog was a little too big for both. lol
Not too long after this, our cat disappeared, but one day, a new arrival came. Acadia was born and her first welcomer at her new home on Earth was a bright eyed, tail wagging Simon. Simon proved himself a good nursemaid. :)
Then we moved to Massachusetts and Simon moved to Sacramento with the Robarts. They kept good care of him, though he was a bit of a trouble maker. When we moved to Vancouver, we were reunited and Simon got to welcome the next addition to our family, Aurora.
In Vancouver, Simon accompanied me on many hikes. In the beginning, when he was younger, he would outpace me up the mountains. I didn't mind. He was the bear-bait, leading the way. When he got older, he was slower, but still bear-bait. :)
Simon slowed down in his old age, but found new purpose as a foot warmer to any foot near enough to sit on. He became our greeter at the door, welcoming friends and family to our home. He was nursemaid to our children, protector in the night, and friendly face every morning.
He was our friend as well as part of our family. May he rest in peace until we meet again.
Goodbye, old friend...