Saying Goodbye.

[ellenmillion]

In human years, being a Newfie, Norway would be 96 now. He's had a long, beautiful life, and chased many squirrels and barked at many moose.

That doesn't make it a lot easier to say goodbye.

He's been having trouble with his back legs since early this spring, and we've been trying to keep pace with pain meds. This last week, the problems got worse, and we knew that his time was coming. Sunday morning, he couldn't stand up by himself, and when lifted, his front legs gave out. He got out of the house, with help, took a few staggering steps into the grass, and found his spot to lie down for good. I spent the day brushing him and telling him what a good dog he was, and saying goodbye. (And ugly crying, and explaining death to a 5-year-old.)

It's hard, seeing where he loved to lie. I keep listening for his bark. I will undoubtedly walk out 'to get him' out of habit for a while. I'm going to miss him. I'm even going to miss vacuuming up his ridiculous fur.


(Click through for a larger version)

What follows is truly gratuitous picspam:

Comments

[sholio]

I'm so, so sorry.

I have a Norway story to tell you, which I'm telling you in a comment rather than in person because a) I don't want to make you cry, and I know you might not want to hear a Norway story right now, so this way you can save it for some other time (or never), and b) I'm not sure if I can get through it without crying either, so typing it is easier. (Edit: yep, absolutely right about the crying.) If you don't want to read it right now, I understand. I'll put in some space so you can avoid it if you want.


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Okay, so, last week, the night before you made your post about Norway being increasingly unwell, I dreamed about him. I know it was the night before, not prompted by that post in any way, because I read your post the next day and thought "... well, that's a weird coincidence." It's even stranger now, given what the dream was about. I've never dreamed about your dog before. I don't go around randomly dreaming about people's dogs! Especially such a vivid, odd dream that I remembered it when I woke up.

It wasn't specifically Norway in the dream, but as soon as I woke up, I thought, "That was probably Norway, or at least my subconscious mind's version of him", because it looked exactly like him, and he's the only big black dog I know.

In the dream I was out on a long, long gravel road in the mountains with a shallow creek or small river beside it, sort of like the Savage River area in Denali, and he was running alongside me, in the water. Just running and running, all stretched out. He was with me in the dream for quite awhile, appearing and disappearing in the wilderness landscape around me as I went through the dream's storyline (which I don't remember very well now, something to do with exploring this place, or looking for something) and in the dream, the way you know things in dreams, I knew that he was supposed to be some kind of spirit guide thing -- something mildly supernatural, but not at all scary. There was just a pleasantly friendly, helpful feeling about him. He was guiding me somewhere. And then the dream veered off into other dream topics, as dreams do, and I had the understanding in the dream that it was time for my dream guide dog to leave. The last I saw of him, he turned and ran across the river in great long bounds, side by side with another dog, and then ran off into the mountains -- across this long, rocky tundra plain, back to wherever he came from. And then I woke up.

So yeah, whatever was going on with that dream, whether it was just a purely random product of my subconscious mind or something else, the last time *I* saw Norway, he was running and looked like he was having the time of his life doing it. And wherever he is now, I'm sure that he's running and running and running.

[minoanmiss]

Oh my friend! I am very sory for your loss.

[acelightning]

I grieve with thee; they do, indeed, leave paw-prints on our hearts, and their lives are so brief compared to ours. But any person, or any creature, still lives, as long as they are remembered with love. And Love itself does not, cannot, die...

*hugs*

[minerva42]

:*(

I'm glad you had each other in life.

[jenny_evergreen]

:'( <3

[sillylilly_bird]

I'm so sorry. Sleep soft, sweet Norway.

[kelkyag]

Many sympathies and gentle fusses. Norway was a very good dog. I'm glad he was part of your lives.

I'm even going to miss vacuuming up his ridiculous fur.
You'll be finding his fur here and there for *years*.

[nonesensed]

Sending all my sympathy! Losing a dear pet is a terrible blow, and I hope you're doing as well as you can be under the circumstances. But Norway sounds like he lived a great life with you! I'm sure you were a wonderful family to him.