It is with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes that I write this post. Our best friend and companion, Butch passed away last night. My grumpy teddy is gone from our lives.
Here is how it panned out. I warn you now that I leave out no detail.
Kim rang me in a panic at about 1630 at work and told me to get home because Butch had lost the function of his hind quarter He simply collapsed due to old age. Essentially he was paralysed from the waist down, and could not walk any more. Kim rushed him to the vet with the assistance of our lovely neighbour Renata. Ben came along as well because Kim believed that it was important that he was a part of what was going on. They had to leave Holly at home by herself.
I rushed straight to the vets from the train station and was ushered into what I can only describe as a funeral parlour for pets. Kim had Butch in her arms and both Ben and her were crying. I started as well. She let me know that our vet, Gloria (one of the nicest vets I know), said that there was no guarantee that he would regain the function of his legs if he underwent an operation and that it was probably best if he was put to sleep, which is vet speak for euthanasia. Butch was 15 and half years old which was 108.5 in dog years, so the chances of him recovering were minimal indeed. So to spare him any further pain, we had a big decision to make. At this stage Renata took Ben home, as we thought it would be too much for him to bare.
So, after much deliberation we made the decision to have him put to sleep. Taking full responsibility for our decision, we spent about 15 minutes talking to Butch hoping he would forgive us, we signed the release form and the vet came in and gave him a sedative to calm him down. We gave him a final kiss and he gave us a lick each as if to tell us that it was alright. After a further 10 minutes of tears, Gloria came in with the big green needle, and Butch passed away in my lap at 1830. I balled my ears out and so did Kim, and we left soon afterwards. When we got home, Holly started looking for him, and we had to comfort her as well.
He will be returned to us in about a week cremated, and we will scatter his ashes around a fruit tree in the front yard that we will plant in his honour. He always loved to mooch around the front yard when he was around. A fitting resting place for a wonderful pet and friend.
I haven’t stopped crying during this entire post, and the emotions are still raw. So as a tribute to my grumpy little teddy, here is an expose of pictures throughout his lifetime. Please indulge me.
To finish off the post here is a wonderful poem that a friend sent us.
Goodbye my friend. You are missed. Until we meet again.