Thursday morning, I took him to the vet for another lymphoma check up. He had been slowing down and the prednisone was wasting his muscles so he couldn't move so well anymore. We decided that it was still a gray area, but that something needed to be done soon.
I spent the day snuggling with my boy, taking him for a walk, seeing the neighbors that he loves and just generally loving on him. Brian came home that night and Friday morning, the answer was clear. He had been waiting for Brian to come home.
Brian spent the day with his boy, snuggling with him, feeding him filet mignon :-) and spoiling him for being the wonderful dog that he was. Leaving for work was heartbreaking for me, knowing that he couldn't get up and this would be the last time I saw him, but I still got a chance to give him a hug, a pat and received a few good tail thumps in return. Stupid dog was still wagging his tail even though he couldn't even move :-) God love him.
That afternoon it had gotten to the point where he couldn't even lift his head anymore and Brian took him to the vet for he last time. My mom met him there and together they said goodbye to our good, loyal, sweet boy.
Brian's mom put it well when she said that Buddy had held out long enough to see Brian finally settled and happy.
We are so sad, but honestly, Buddy had the BEST ride. He was surrounded by people that loved him, was a navy dog that never had to go to a kennel when Brian went on deployment, travelled around the country and had friends in all of those places. He wasn't the crazy Marley and Me kind of dog, but more of a stable, loving, constant tail-wagging kind of boy. He and I only had the past 3 years together, but it felt like much much more. He was Brian's boy, getting him through the pain of a difficult divorce, being there when he would fly in from deployment, and just generally being his best friend.
We will miss our good boy but know that he is thumping his tail away up there, feeling no pain and able to jump off all the cliffs he wants to. :-) Fair Winds and Following Seas - Buddy.
