Musings of a college graduate

My midnight kiss! Haha, well, at least he’s not a dumb guy who will let me down. Love you Rexy!

This is what I do on Saturday afternoons.

Larry with his best friend, Riley.

Today was a tough day, I went to work thinking I would be fine. I start thinking about my dog while I’m driving down the freeway. I park outside my work, suck it up and walk in. My coworker, H, notices I look sad and asks me if I’m okay. I say yes but then quickly correct myself and say no. I then tell her what happened and the tears start flowing. I feel vulnerable. I hate that, especially at work. I dry my tears and join my other coworker, C, and tell her about what happens… well, only because other work drama happened (that’s another post). It was a rough morning/afternoon but once the kids came around I started feeling better.

Today, my family and I are saying good bye to our American Bulldog, Larry. After six years of annoying the hell out of me, he has finally reached his final day. In June (2010), he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his right rear leg. After a long debate, we decided to amputate the limb in hopes of making him comfortable enough to live out the rest of his life. He was doing so great, he adjusted to being a three-legged dog so easily. He was such a champ. Then recently, we started noticing that he was unable to relieve himself. We took him to the vet, were advised that we had to change his diet and that this is only a temporary fix due to the fact that a tumor was now pushing against his colon, making it difficult for him to use the bathroom. This whole week we were hoping he could pull through, what other option did we have? Then, this weekend, we found that he was unable to urinate, too. We could no longer let our dog suffer. My dad took him to the vet this morning and then called to let me know that our dog was going to be put down. As much as I would like to be there for my Dad, I know I am not strong enough so I opted to mourn at home. I know that this is the best option for him, especially after having to discuss it all weekend with my family. I’m glad he will no longer be in pain but I am sad that I will not be able to see or pet him anymore. We will always love and miss you, Larry.

I know this isn’t the best picture of him but this was Larry. He would always try to cuddle with my sister on her bed. It’s something I’ll always remember about him.

When Larry was a puppy, he was the cutest puppy I had ever seen. He was small, goofy and always up to no good. Now he’s 5 years old, 60 something pounds and quite a terror. Recently my family discovered that he has bone cancer in his rear right leg. Ever since June, he has been running around without the help of this leg and my family has been diligently trying to figure out what was wrong with him. It’s been such a struggle for me to watch my dog deal with the pain of his back leg. I think the hardest part is knowing that one day, the cancer will win. Even after amputation of the leg, the cancer will spread to his chest and eventually make him really sick. As much as this has been difficult for me, no one can really understand the pain my dad is going through. A lot of people will say, “Who cares? It’s just a dog.” Well, he’s our dog and he’s part of our family. And one day, we will have to say good bye to our family member but until then, I’m going to try and enjoy his company. He might not have been the most perfect dog, but he’s been entertaining, protective and very loving.

(Photo credit: My sister)

I’m in love.

Edit: The lost doggie is now found. His owners picked him up tonight. I am sad. I still love him though…

Look what my sister found and my dad caught. Poor thing running around the neighborhood. What should I name him? Hmmm….