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Exactly one month ago today my buddy, Chester the yellow lab, passed away. Yes, on Christmas Day, just after midnight. It didn't seem right to post this on Christmas, dribbling some sadness into that day, and I thought the pain would be less if I waited a month.

Wrong about that second part.

At 10 years old, he was in great shape right up to the end, happy, willing, active. A few nights earlier when I had come home very late, he did donuts in the yard. When he was deliriously happy, like when I came home, rather than barking (he rarely barked) he would run full tilt in big circles, passing about half-an inch from me and taking another big loop in the yard, then running down to the barn (100 yards) and back, all at full afterburner. Dad's home! Joy to the Chester's World.

On Christmas Eve we came back from visiting family. He went to the barn with me to feed the horse -- a favorite task -- but he lagged behind. I got out his dinner...he was not interested. Big signal that something was wrong. Breakfast and dinner were highlights of the day, nearly as important as When Dad Comes Home. Yet tonight -- no interest. Labored breathing.

Off to the Emergency Pet Clinic in New Braunfels. Hemangiosarcoma on right atrium, enlarged heart, cardiac tamponade. A cancer of the blood vessels was causing his heart to leak blood into the sac that surrounds the heart. As more blood leaks, it compresses the heart more and more. (Knowing this now it slays me that he still felt like he had to go to the barn with me. Escorting Dad To The Barn was Duty, so of course he did it despite how he felt.)

Could attempt to drain the blood, remove the cancer, but success is measured in months, no guarantee, and the dog will have to go through a lot. Chester was visibly winding down very fast, right in front of me.

So not so long after midnight the vet euthanized him while I held him and told him what great absolutely fantastic well-loved dog he is. Christmas morning my wife and I buried him with all the pets that have preceded him. Wife and I are absolutely crushed.

But as painful as this is, and I have gone through it with many little friends, I would not trade a second of all the time we had together to avoid it.

He was a great friend, the incarnation of "I wish I was half the man my dog thinks I am."

Rest in peace Chester.

ELB wrote:Exactly one month ago today my buddy, Chester the yellow lab, passed away. Yes, on Christmas Day, just after midnight. It didn't seem right to post this on Christmas, dribbling some sadness into that day, and I thought the pain would be less if I waited a month.

Rest in peace Chester.

ELB, what a great tribute to Chester!

I believe that the Good Lord allowed humans to have dogs as companions to remind us of how fleeting this life can be, and of important things like loyalty and friendship. Truly sorry to hear of the loss of your good pal.

WildBill wrote:

ELB wrote:Exactly one month ago today my buddy, Chester the yellow lab, passed away. Yes, on Christmas Day, just after midnight. It didn't seem right to post this on Christmas, dribbling some sadness into that day, and I thought the pain would be less if I waited a month.

Rest in peace Chester.

ELB, what a great tribute to Chester!

What a great tribute to all of you. We know your pain.

My 14 year old Lab, Polo, died in November of 2009. I opened a present from my son that Christmas and in it was a wind chime with Polo's birth and death date. I cried like a baby in front of the whole family but that present meant more to me than anything I have received in years. That chime hangs outside my kitchen window and Polo "talks" to me several times a day. Shortly after his death, we rescued an older lab that some family had dumped at the animal shelter. She is an absolute joy. She is my shadow and will not let me out of her site. She loves our other dogs and all our cats. There IS a wonderful dog at a shelter that needs a new forever home. Think of the wonderful gift that you could give each other. The new dog will never replace Chester but will fill a small part of that hole.

A great tribute to him indeed. My condolences to the family.

I am afraid we are about to go through the same thing. Our 7 year old golden has cancer. She has had one surgery about 4 months ago to remove a tumor and the vet sent it off. The results came back that it is a very aggressive form of cancer and she could have anywhere from 2 months to 2 years left. Well, since my wife and daughter own a groom shop, they took her in Tuesday for her Spa treatment and found 2 more growths already the size of golf balls under her back legs. She is still eating and playing but we know its just a matter of a short time that she has left.

howdy wrote:... The new dog will never replace Chester but will fill a small part of that hole.

Pretty much all our pets have come to us because they needed a home and there we were. Chester originally belonged to some people who were moving to Alaska and couldn't take all five of their dogs. I have brought home kittens from fire department calls. One of our cats came with house we bought here in Seguin. We got a couple from the shelter because we saw the picture and it spoke to us (especially the black cats -- we have had several over the years, they are harder to get adopted than others).

So the wife and I know that sooner or later another dog will cross our paths and we and the dog will know we belong together.

RPBrown wrote:... She is still eating and playing but we know its just a matter of a short time that she has left.

That's tough. No matter how many times you do it, you will never regret giving her a scratch and a hug and telling her what a great dog she is.

ELB wrote:Pretty much all our pets have come to us because they needed a home and there we were. especially the black cats -- we have had several over the years, they are harder to get adopted than others.

Is this really true? Don't tell me it's because of the superstition?

All of our pets have been rescues. Love them all unfailingly, and they me. Sorry about your loss ELB.

WildBill wrote:

ELB wrote:Pretty much all our pets have come to us because they needed a home and there we were. especially the black cats -- we have had several over the years, they are harder to get adopted than others.

Is this really true? Don't tell me it's because of the superstition?

Folks who work at shelters have told me that it is harder to adopt out black cats. People prefer the multi-colored ones, or ones with patterns. On our latest cat acquisition, we saw a picture in the paper of two littermates needing adoptions. The brown one went fast. My wife was so mad that somone didn't adopt the brothers together she went and got the black one, and those shelter people told her the same thing, it would hard to get it adopted out.

And everyone of my cats adored Chester. When the kittens came home with me, they took over his bed and he slept on the floor beside it.

It's so hard watching a perfectly healthy (or so you think) dog go from playing one day, to being gone the next. Next month will be a year since I lost mine. After 11 years in my life, it's definitely sucks to not have them there anymore.

I hope you consider adopting another dog that needs to be saved from a shelter.