The Other Man In My Life...

I know that this blog is about myself and my two crazy Pyr boys..but I want to take a moment to talk about Chance, the other man in my life. No, not human and not a Pyr, but a Flat Coat Retriever. 

Chance came into my life in March of 1997. I was very young, just out of my mom’s house living on my own. I already had a black lab named Hunny who passed 2.5 years later due to a brain tumor at the young age of 3. He was then my only child. Chance sure was a bad puppy. And I mean BAD…Worst puppy I ever had (up until Hogan) and my mother will even vouch for that…Once he got out of his puppy phase it was almost overnight that he morphed into a whole new dog. All of the sudden he started to listen, quit getting into things, etc. He was always a joy but this was a whole new level. Chance traveled with me and went almost anywhere I did within reason. He was the front porch greeter, and loved everyone and everything (even cats). He rode well in the car and he knew what “bye bye in the car” meant. He loved going to the vet!! He was just a well-rounded, good ole’ boy of a dog.  He loved his “babies” aka stuffed animals, and never tore them up..sure he would shake them vigorously from side to side, throw them up in the air only to catch them in his mouth again, but never destroyed them. He slept with them and carried them around the house. He loved pickles and bananas and his all time favorite was “frenchie fries” from McDonald’s. If there was water around, he was in it.. He lived the good life and that was for sure and he got me through some of the darkest times of my life. If I was sick, that boy would lay in bed with me all day long. He wouldn’t move unless I did. He stuck by me through thick and thin..He was the bread to my butter.

In the last year Chance took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and events. Several trips to the hospital thinking he was dying only to have him playing with his babies the next morning..He was going blind and deaf, slept all the time and suddenly would bark whenever I left the room.  Doggie Dementia had started to set in. His once jet black face was almost all white and mobility was a problem, but he still tried to get his play time in with Hogan and Hurley and he always made sure they knew who was boss..On February 20^th, after 16 years of being a loyal, faithful, loving companion, I let Chance go. I woke up to find he couldn’t take three steps without falling down. Getting him outside was a huge task and once outside he just laid down. He gave me a look I will never forget. It said “Momma, it’s ok, it’s time to let me go”. I let my boss know, and took the day off. I made the appointment with the vets office, and spent the day with him. I made his paw print in clay, went and got him a McDonald’s cheeseburger meal and gave him whatever he wanted.  I laid on the floor with him all day. I brushed him and told him I couldn’t send him up to heaven looking like a hot mess. Once it was time to go,  I had to have help getting him in the car. I put all the windows down in the car because even though he couldn’t stand and stick his head out of the window, I wanted him to feel the wind and smell all the smells he could.  The trip to the vet went by far too fast, why was this? Once there, the ladies came out and got him on a stretcher and took him inside. There we were, was this really happening? This couldn’t be..not yet son, not yet..

Dr. Allen and her staff couldn’t have been more caring and kind to the both of us. She explained everything to me (although I had done this before), and told me to take as much time as possible, and I did. I let her know when it was time. She moved quickly and quietly, all with a caring spirit at the same time. She put me at ease by telling me how selfless I was. She also made me feel like a great mom by saying that  she’d never seen a 97 pound dog live to be 16..I knew I’d done something right. He calmly and slowly left this world in my arms. I sat there for a while really not knowing what to do. I knew it was time to leave him, but I just couldn’t.  Again, they told me to take as much time as I needed. When I finally got the courage up to leave him, one of the techs said she would stay with him for a while which meant a lot to me. Going home was hard...I knew the boys would be looking for him. I left his collar and leash in the car. I fell apart when I got home because he was everywhere. His toys, beds, pictures and yes, even his long black hair..I kept waking up all night thinking he was there, and he wasn’t. The next morning was hard…he wasn’t there to wake me up with his heavy Darth Vader breathing and his nails weren’t clicking on the concrete and tile floors. In the end though, I know I did the right thing, and that he has crossed the Rainbow Bridge and is running, jumping and playing pain free with Hunny, Chelsea, Boots, Missy and all the other pets I have had that are now gone. I miss him every single day and have his pictures plastered everywhere. He was the best dog anyone could ever have..Meet Chance: