I made the decision today after watching him drink some water and immediately throw it up, as he had been doing for the past few days. Plus, he hadn't eaten for several days either. And those who knew José knew that he never missed a meal.
Even though I knew it was inevitable, I kept putting off the decision to have him put to sleep. And today, watching him struggle to walk back to his bed after vomiting another time, I found the courage to take him to the animal hospital to be euthanized. He died so peacefully that I understand now why they use the term putting them "to sleep."
I'm going to miss José because he was with me since June of 2006. I bought him out of a litter when he was just a few weeks old to serve as a companion to another Chihuahua that my aunt had left me when she died. One of the promises I made her before she died it was that I would take care of her dog. But after a while, I realized that the dog wasn't too happy being home alone all day. Plus she had always had the companionship of my aunt. So I brought José into the picture. And he served as a playful friend to that dog until it too passed on.
While I won't miss giving him insulin injections as I did twice a day for about the past three years, I will miss the greeting he gave me every day when I came home from the office. And I will miss how excited he would get every time I fed him.
Even though I knew it was inevitable, I kept putting off the decision to have him put to sleep. And today, watching him struggle to walk back to his bed after vomiting another time, I found the courage to take him to the animal hospital to be euthanized. He died so peacefully that I understand now why they use the term putting them "to sleep."
I'm going to miss José because he was with me since June of 2006. I bought him out of a litter when he was just a few weeks old to serve as a companion to another Chihuahua that my aunt had left me when she died. One of the promises I made her before she died it was that I would take care of her dog. But after a while, I realized that the dog wasn't too happy being home alone all day. Plus she had always had the companionship of my aunt. So I brought José into the picture. And he served as a playful friend to that dog until it too passed on.
While I won't miss giving him insulin injections as I did twice a day for about the past three years, I will miss the greeting he gave me every day when I came home from the office. And I will miss how excited he would get every time I fed him.
And the great thing about him is that he never complained about anything. I could be in a bad mood and he still loved me. I could step on his toe accidentally and he wouldn't carry a resentment for more than a moment or two.
I'll always remember Jose as a lover, not a fighter.While our other two dogs might be growling at visitors, he would be trying to get them to pick him up and pet him while he licked their faces.
His ashes will be spread in the flower beds around the house where he spent his life.
