The love of a great pet is an awesome thing, and Jack, our chocolate Labrador, was an amazing pet, friend, companion, and faithful family member. He died today, just two weeks shy of his 13th birthday.
Anyone who has lost a loved one knows the heartbreak our little family is going through right now. It is never easy to watch someone you love die. With pets, we are faced with watching them die, possibly in pain, or help them die peacefully through euthanasia. It is such a dilemma because you want to hang on as long as you can - it is a selfish longing because you can see the suffering in their eyes, the humiliation whenever they defecate in the house or worse, on themselves, and the withering of their body as it shuts down.
Around 5:50pm today we decided that we would put him down tomorrow morning. Well, he must have been listening to that conversation with the vet, because around 6:05pm he took his last breath. It was terrible having to watch him die, but I am really glad he was at home with us and the rest of the fur kids. I am sure he is looking down on us thinking what an awesome life he had as a Gell dog.
The first time we met Jack was when we drove out to the breeders' farm in Brazoria County. We were a little early so they hadn't had time to tire him out. When this big brown thing (11 mos old) came bolting out of his kennel, slobbering EVERYWHERE, a look of horror came across my face and a look of joy and love across Charlie's. Apparently this hunting school drop-out dog was meant to be ours, and we had a great time with Bayou Jack (his official name). He's been all the way around the world - literally. He had a maid in KL just to take care of him when we were out of town and a ranch in Texas just so he could swim and run around. Life couldn't have been better.
Most of my friends and family know Jack, so if you have a special story you'd like to tell about him, feel free to post a comment. He was a really, really great dog.
Photo: Jack in Kuala Lumpur (and happy as a clam). Taken 2003.
What a wonderful tribute to a beautiful, loving companion.
Posted by: mgmason | September 02, 2008 at 22:52
Jack was a good companion and his passing is a loss; your blog is a great capsule of his life.
I recall his almost inexhaustible energy, his instinctive retrieving of whatever was thrown, until he just could not run any more...and so would then just lie down with whatever he had retrieved to catch his breath.
Posted by: rmmason | September 02, 2008 at 23:18
I remember the first time I met Jack. Christi took him out to exercise by throwing a "duck substitute" that he would retrieve. Throw after throw he ran out and brought it back. After what seemed like a few hundred retrievals he began to tire and the trips back took longer as the direct line became an arc - the great circle route back.
He tired but he didn't stop. I never saw a dog with so much heart.
Posted by: mgmason | September 03, 2008 at 14:10