Saying Adieu to Our Mattie

Mattie was one of our two Aussie Shepherds. She was a kind dog, and she was a speed demon at running in her younger years.

About 4 months ago, we noticed that Mattie was not herself. She wasn't as energetic nor as happy to see us. We also noticed that she was having bladder trouble.

In past month, we noticed that she could not walk very well, and was falling down frequently. She had scraped her nose. She had an infection, and it was discovered she had not only liver problems, she had hip dysplasia, a common disease amongst older dogs.

This week, we observed that Mattie wouldn't sleep in her crate, and when she did, she soiled the bedding. She couldn't turn around to her comfort in the crate, so she slept outside of it, and she was incontinent. We made an appointment for Friday morning. But this morning, I noticed she couldn't climb the steps of our patio deck; she would fall down, and she had too much trouble getting up. She also wouldn't eat.

So, we got an appointment with our vet this afternoon to confirm our thoughts of timing. Our vet was amazing. She hugged me and said that Mr. Benny and I were doing the loving thing by our Mattie as Mattie was ready to go. Our instincts were right. We said good bye to our Mattie at 5:05 this afternoon, and by 5:07, she was permanently asleep. We sat on a blanket with her and petted her while she went to sleep. It was the first time I had seen a pet be put down, and it was done with dignity, without pain.

I thank Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend for preparing me for the experience as she and her spouse had to put their dog down 3 weeks ago today. We chatted about it via IM in a social network, and she explained how the euthanization process is conducted. It was exactly the way it happened to our pet.

The picture shown here was taken a couple of weeks before Mattie's 12th birthday in May. She was a lovely dog. As we don't have human children, our pets are like kids to us.

Mattie's survivor family members are her sister, Sydney, who was from the same litter, two cats, Elmora and Benson, and of course, her humans.

Sometimes I wonder why humans aren't allowed to make similar decisions except life support devices, but that's another story.

Saturday I'm off to see my ma in Texas. I think it will be good therapy for her and me.

TIA for your moral support BW readers during our time of grief.

Update: Right now, Mr. Benny and I are listening to Dvorak's 9th Symphony, The New World, and the 2nd movement, "Going Home". Seems fitting for our Mattie.