Jake, our beautiful and loving dog is no longer with us in this temporal time. The state of his deterioration; that he is welcome where we live, however, dogs are not allowed, meaning we work hard to make it comfortable for Jake and for the HOA where we live. As his senses and abilities continued to decline, he was not able to stand up on his own, he tried valiantly and because he could not make it known that he had to eliminate, the accidents (if one can call them that) were becoming too frequent.
Recognizing that we (my husband and myself) had been going through our own process of loss and grief, even before the deed was done, in letting Jake go. He was in his 15th year, and while still perky for us, I saw a moment when he was performing for Daddy which belies the actual condition regarding Jake’s quality of life. Realizing Jake would be responsive to us right up until his last moments, it became relevant to look at the quality of Jake’s life in his present state of deterioration.
In aiming to be remedial, we may have been extending his life in ways painful to him. We arrived at decision to have him put down mercifully. We had trip to west side of the state for a family event. Decided to take Jake to the veternarian family with which we were familiar on coast. There we had the deed done, and Jake was with us no more. The anguish has been unbearable sometimes, after all, he is a dog, right? He was our family – daily life was about life with Jake and each day we experience the loss of him with the many little things that made up our day with Jake. The absence of him leaves a hole not only in our hearts, also in our daily routines, many of which now are no longer required, yet sorely missed.
We had Jake cremated, and his ashes we have now in a wooden urn box, which sets on the shelf next to the miniature urn of my stepfather, Charlie. Jake is still with us in that way, and we look forward to the time when we reunite with him where he has gone for no one really knows what happens after temporal life. In the meantime, Jake is with us in unmeasurable ways.
Just Getting Along 