It’s hard to believe that just two weeks, three days and four hours ago, I said goodbye to a dog I had barely begun to get to know. It seems like only yesterday an old, crotchety pit bull mix known at the shelter as Pugsley weaseled his hobbling mannerisms and dislike of any dog he couldn’t domineer and push around stole our hearts.
In the ten short months that Gus called our home his, we learned many valuable lessons – like the patience and unconditional love and trust of a dog who hadn’t always had the good life which showed through on the many scars and healed old wounds on his old body. He allowed us to fall truly, madly and deeply in love with his aged soul with utter abandon and his passing three weeks after being diagnosed with lymphosarcoma knocked the wind out of our sails as if we had been blessed to hold him in our hearts for the thirteen odd years he had walked this earth.
Gus was a truly special dog. He was dignified, stubborn, tenacious and all bulldog even when his body began to fail him. He pressed on even on those days where he hurt so badly that even a heavy dose of pain medication couldn’t touch. He always wanted to be the good dog in our house. He strived to always be with us – as close as physically possible – at all times. He was a good dog – even when he was being horridly naughty.
Gus was the heart and soul of what a ‘pit bull’ should be. He loved children and adults of all walks of life. He had never known a stranger and was as polite as a gentleman when he was asked to be – even if he encountered a rude, ill-mannered creature in our daily walks of life. He will always be remembered for what he was and not what the cancer stole from us in those last three, short weeks as a member of our crew. That hole will always be there where he took a piece of our hearts and the hearts of those who knew and loved him with him across the Rainbow Bridge to wait for us and teach those lessons to those who waited along with him until we are able to join him.
There is never ‘goodbye’ in Gus’s world only ‘see you later’ because tomorrow was a new adventure and a new journey on a path that will lead to something amazing.
What turned out as a routine senior exam because Gus wasn’t feeling good has turned our life upside down for the last couple of weeks. Gus has lymphosarcoma. It isn’t slow moving and it is attacking his GI tract pretty nastily. Our vet didn’t have a whole lot of positive to say because of his age and susceptibility to succumbing if we opted to treat our beloved Elderbull with chemo. He said that the kindest option would be management and then helping him cross the bridge when the time came – which could be sooner or later.
had a Urinary Tract Infection – the one thing we worked to prevent with his accidents. The final blow was the lymphosarcoma attacking his GI tract and causing the bloating and unwillingness to eat.
cookie even though they aren’t good for him, spending all night cuddling with us.