Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Damn one dog, Belly

As time went on, Belly met more people, she loved anyone and everyone, except people who yelled or exhibited any kind of forcefulness or violence. Which was very good...and while playing..really funny. She LOVED when she had a cooked meal, yes she was very spoiled. But as a person who had a dog "room mate" I, too, was spoiled. So was ANYONE who lived with us. She loved to be petted, and would force it if you didn't comply, She knew how to get rid of my upset stomach by laying across it. She knew how to babysit, loved to swim, hot tub, car ride, boat ride, hike, just about anything I did she learned how to do. When I had my first long term boyfriend while I had her, she knew him as Daddy, and me as Mommy, everyone else she knew by name. She LOVED Daddy. He was around for about 2 years, and when he left she mourned almost as much as I did. It was very sad. There were a lot of camping trips, boat trips (where she tried to dive off and chase cows), a lot of good times. After about 4-5 years..."Daddy" came back, they were both very excited to see each other, he always told me he loved Belly way more than me, lol. (But I do believe he did, and I think she knew it!) When he left the first time, he wanted visitation...I declined given the circumstances of our split up...
As time passed I moved to Las Vegas from LA, we went to visit him almost every weekend, she didn't mind the car ride, since she loved being in the car, she hugged me lots of times going across the desert and back, Belly type hugs, nuzzling my neck, we made many mid desert pit stops for her. Then she seemed sick, she whined alot, her eyes didn't look right. I took her to the vet, he advised she was diabetic...that was upsetting for me, she needed insulin injections. I couldn't imagine it would be painless for her. But we learned to make a game of it. She saw the shots and went directly to the fridge, it was a deal I think she was making. "I'll be a trooper and let you give me a shot, but I want a treat!" So a deal it was, she's sit down and wait for her shot, very still, then once she got it, she'd start leaping her way to the fridge for her treat! Slice of turkey or chicken meat! And it went on for about 8 months, and she seemed normal until the last two months, she got slower, had more and more frequent bathroom trips, but she couldn't relieve herself. She started whining again at night when she was trying to sleep, she moved around alot, got up readjusted, whined more. She began running into walls, getting lost in corners...she was blind. We had to guide her movements everywhere. I delayed and delayed, thinking...she'll get better, but she was miserable. Daddy said, we need to let her go. On the way to the car, she collapsed, I carried her the rest of the way. He had to drive...I couldn't see... I sat in back, she sat on my lap. When we got to the vet I couldn't sign the paper, Daddy had to do it...I carried her in, sobbing the whole way, I looked in her eyes and they put her to sleep, I think a good part of me died with her....I cremated her and kept her remains....it was the hardest day of my life...and still is.....