Saying Goodbye To A Pet Was Not On My Bucket List

It’s taken me a few days to find the courage to write about this but now, I think I can do it. Last Friday, I went through with my decision to put Rex, my faithful dog of almost 15 years, down. Saying goodbye to a pet wasn’t on my bucket list for 2014 but it was something that had to be done. I’ve always believed in quality of life over quantity and for Rex, I’m pretty sure he thought the same.

For those of you who don’t know Rex’s story, he was a rescue. Literally. As his brothers and sisters trampled all over him, I pulled his tiny little 6 week old body out from under some guy’s porch stairs. He had no interest in fighting his siblings for position or trying to win me over with puppy breath and kisses. Instead, he was content to stay curled up under those stairs away from brights lights and other things he deemed scary. That made him the perfect the choice for me. I didn’t want the loudest dog out of the bunch, I wanted the one who needed saved the most.

He was always stubborn, always hated having his picture taken and if given the choice between sleeping or eating, the majority of the time he would choose to sleep. Aside from his stubborness, he was the sweetest, most docile dog you would ever meet. He would do extremely odd things at times…like sleeping with his head under the bed.

For non-animal lovers, you won’t understand this post because for you, it’s just a dog. Maybe you have a dog because you thought it was trendy (labradoodle anyone?) or maybe it was for your kids who could care less about it now. You don’t get that for some of us, a dog is more than just a pet, they are family members who are there with you during your life experiences.  When I look back on Rex’s life, I have to look back on my own. I see him beside me when I was hired at my first “real” job (and my second and third). He moved with me to three different states, only to end up back in Kansas. He was there when I found out I was pregnant the first time and there when I miscarried a few weeks later. He saw me get married and divorced and probably most importantly, he was there to share four years with my daughter, who was his second biggest fan.

As I deal with Rex’s death, I am thankful that I was able to have him in my life for as long as I did. I used to say that Rex was the lucky that I pulled him from under those stairs but I quickly realized, I was the lucky one.