Molly!

Let me take a bit of time between resisting to tell you about Molly.

We were blessed with Molly one day in April of 2016 when the stars aligned and we were just 5 minutes ahead of another family when we saw her in the local animal shelter. Her name was Baby, she was 11, she had cancer, she had been used as a breeder dog, and she had just been spayed. And there, in a cage, stood the most beautiful spirit I had ever laid eyes on, at least for a dog, and about 99% of humans. Baby was up for adoption and I immediately wanted her to come live with us. We changed her name to Molly, paid the fees. and took this 58 pound Golden Retriever home to enrich our home. Man, did she ever.

Molly loved the back yard to roam freely for perhaps the first time in her 11 years. She loved her treats. She loved to eat. She loved to play when her age let her. She loved to go on walks with her "brother" Jack. She loved to lay around and be brushed. She loved to be petted. She loved to fart and belch and make goofy faces. Molly was the sweetest most loving dog Ive ever had.

But Molly was now 13 and slowing down. She didnt get up as much as she used to, The last time she went for a walk she barely made it a half mile and threw up when she was finally finished exploring the woods of the park. She drank water constantly. She became incontinent to the point we had to put puppy pads all over the house. And then last week, she basically stopped functioning. She panted so deeply it was scary. She drank bowls of water at one time. She developed diarrhea. Yep, the vet said she had a fever of 105 and had become diabetic. She weighed 41 pounds down 17 from when she adopted us. The vet said everything except put her down but the implication was there.

We began to give her insulin shots, anti biotics and incontinence pills. It worked for a couple of days. She began begging for people food again and ate her canned diabetic food.

It didnt last and yesterday she stopped eating. She threw up her pills. She threw up her water. She went to the back yard and laid in the leaves far away from the way back inside. She was miserable. But we persisted to allow Max to come home and say goodbye. Hopefully she'd last until Thanksgiving vacation.

Late last night, she came into the bedroom as she had for 18 months to be petted. But this time was different. She looked up at me with cloudy eyes and a heavy pant. She got her love and then collapsed to the ground. She panted heavily and then raised her tired body up and threw up whatever she had in her stomach for the last time. She laid her head down and groaned. You could feel her suffering. I cried for her as I laid next to her on the floor and made a decision that she should suffer no more. I told her that I would make it stop. We called Max to come home and say his goodbyes. He arrived and her tail wagged in greeting. I damn near lost it again.

We drove her to the 24 hours Emergency Pet Care and carried her in. She laid on a table and panted heavily. Her eyes seemed to come back to life being surrounded by her family that loved her so much. I almost said forget it she's going home but my senses overcame my selfishness.

The vet came in and gave her a sedative to calm her suffering and heavy breathing. We petted her and kissed her and bawled like babies as the final sedative was administered. I looked into her bright eyes and smiled at her. Max's Mom felt her heartbeat speed up and then stop, I saw her eyes go from bright to blank. She was gone. Our lives were not better. Hers may have been.

Last night at around 5am I heard steps on the deck where Molly would go outside and go down stairs to roam her kingdom back yard. The pattern was hers, like a horse clopping on the cement. Her collar, which I had removed and put on a TV stand, suddenly fell to the ground. It made me sit up and freak out a bit.

Yes, Molly, so long. Say hi to Pete, Bear, Cali, and Flakey.