I have tried writing this dozens of times and I couldn't make it just right. But it has already been a few days and I just can't put this off any longer.
I got Blue when I was nine years old. I had wanted a dog for a long time (we had a few when I was younger but I barely remember them). My aunt's, friend's, dog had a litter of pups so we went to check them out. They were all really cute and I actually didn't want the soon-to-be-Blue at first. But now I am so glad that my first choice wasn't chosen. He had been called Bear by the original owners because he was twice the size of his his brothers and sisters. We should have taken that as a hint that he wasn't going to be big, he was going to be huge. I had fun trying to train him and all summer we would go for 2-3 walks a day. Blue led me to tonnes of new trails, a hidden beach and to many new friends both human and dog.
Blue was a sweet heart. He loved life, he loved people, he loved food but most of all he loved his walks. He could go on for hours. Walking around the neighbourhood, finding new trails to explore, checking out his favourite trails and his favourite walk was a trail through some woods, along a stream that lead to a semi-private beach.
In the last couple of months he hadn't quite been right. At first it looked like he was packing on the weight but when we could start to feel his ribs and his spine we knew that it couldn't be the case. So on March 20, 2009 we took him to the vet who after some tests told us that his abdomen was full of fluid, which happened to be blood. He was bleeding out. The vet believes that it was his spleen if not then his liver. The fluid had pushed his organs up towards his chest squishing them together. It made it hard for him to breathe and the constant pressure on his heart caused him to have congestive heart failure(CHF).
He was strong for almost an entire month after the diagnosis. He ate normally for the most part and when he stopped eating his kibble he ate canned food and when he refused to eat that I spent a couple of hours learning about a good balanced diet so he could eat healthy human food. On his good days he he demanded we went for walks, even though they were short, he enjoyed them with every ounce of his soul. We had a joke that all the people who avoided him on our walks (apparently he was scary looking...?) were obviously stupid people that we didn't want to meet anyways which was confirmed by their ignorance of large dogs. On his bad days we sat out side in the back yard and listened to the birds, smelled the scents on the wind (well he did, I didn't) and watched the sun set.
On Thursday 16, 2009 Blue stopped eating, it was also his last walk and the next day his eyes started going yellow, which turned out as green with his eyes. He wasn't doing well but he wasn't ready to go right then. I kept asking him and he would go pick up a toy, get a drink or anything to show me that he wasn't ready. But on Sunday when I asked him if it was time he looked me in the eye and then went to sleep...he knew it was time. So we located the only e-vet in the area and brought him in that after noon.
When we got there we had to wait about 30 minutes until they could even see Blue. Now that I think back to it I am quite thankful for the extra time. We spent it outside the vet clinic since it was a perfect day. The temperature was perfect, the breeze was nice, the sun was shining and Blue enjoyed it. He sniffed around at interesting smells, let the wind blow in his face and then he came and sat with us while we shared good memories about him. Eventually the vet called us in and examined him. She let us bring him into our van before he was pts since he was so big (which the vet tech at first said wasn't aloud and that we would have to carry him out through the waiting room after, I still don't like her). He died peacefully surrounded by the people that loved him most.
To sum things up....Blue was a great dog and my best friend. It has been hard accepting that after nearly seven years I won't see him for a long time. He was my best friend who helped me when I lost some good pets, when I got a bad grade and especially when I had a rough year where it seemed that bad things just kept coming one after another. I still love him and I always will. Rest In Peace Blue, gone but never forgotten. One day I will see you again and my day will have its sun once more.
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