Goodbye, Princess

Ever since I came home to New York for the holidays, my dog Princess hasn’t been feeling well. She has arthritis, she’s blind in one eye, she could barely walk let alone stand up, and her kidneys started failing. A couple of nights ago, I heard her barking. But there wasn’t really anything coming out. I ran to the kitchen, and she was just laying there, trying to get up, but couldn’t because she was too weak. It was the saddest thing I have ever seen. I laid down next to her to try and comfort her, but that didn’t matter. She was still in pain. And her eyes looked incredibly sad.

The next day we brought her to the hospital where she was hooked up to an IV for a couple of days and seems to be doing better. She was eating and drinking, but that’s only because she was getting fluids. If we were to bring her home she would only get worse again, and most likely wouldn’t last more than a couple of days. My family and I were going back and fourth for days. We were so torn - should we take her home only to see her suffer, or should we put her to sleep? It was a huge decision. Especially since she appeared to be OK in the hospital. But in the long run, it wasn’t fair to let her suffer. After all, she was seventeen years old. Which, in human years, is like.. well I don’t know how old, but it’s really old! I don’t do math OK. So today we put her to rest. Did you ever have to put a pet to sleep? If so, then you would know that it’s one of the hardest things you’d ever have to do. And if you haven’t, then you’re really lucky. One minute she was licking my face, and then the vet took her in the back, and when he came out, she was gone. It’s just all very strange to me.

So for now, we could only remember the best of times with her. She was so beautiful and good natured. Whenever I would take her out with me, I would get stopped by everybody, and little kids always wanted to pet “Lassie.” She was smart and sometimes I actually felt as if she were a real person. One time, my other dog, Amber, somehow got locked outside in the backyard, and nobody realized that she was gone. So Princess stood by the back door, barking until somebody went out back to find her and rescue her. She did things like that a lot. And now that she’s gone, Amber seems lost and constantly looks for her. She even sits where Princess’s water bowl once was, as if she’s waiting for her to come back.

Luckily, I’m still in New York for an extended holiday stay. So I’m thankful that I was here when she was laid to rest. Everything happens for a reason. And I was just happy to spend every last moment with her.