Good Bye Old Friend

By: Samantha S Daviss

 

There are very few things we can count on in our lives.

1)      You will always pay taxes;

2)      The sun will always rise in the east and set in the west;

3)      And your pet will love you unconditionally, no matter what…

The love of a devoted pet is like no other. No matter what mood you are in, how bad of a day you had at the office, how far behind on bills you may be, or how stressed you are about not meeting your deadlines…none of that matters to your pet. When you walk in the back door, they are sitting there patiently waiting for your smiling face, warm hand to graze the top of their head, and just a little love and attention from you to let them know you still love them.

I have never been a cat person, mainly because I am highly allergic to them; but my heart runs deep for the good love of a puppy or a dog. There is just something about their innocent faces and wagging tails that melts my heart. Now if you have never had the connection to a pet or really cared for animals that much, then this will make absolutely no sense to you, and may seem a little odd.

But this past weekend our family lost one of its members. We had to make one of the toughest decisions we will ever have to make as a family together, and that was to let our oldest dog go to a better place, away from pain and exhaustion, to rest in peace.

Floyd was our 13 year old Golden Retriever. He was a great dog, but a dog that definitely beat to his own drum. He was one of those dogs that would go on an adventure, wander around, and come home when he was darn good and ready. He knew how to watch for cars when he crossed the road; he would return to houses that he had once lived in before, due to a move or a life change; and he was my husband’s co-pilot on numerous occasions (literally, his co-pilot).

Floyd was my husband’s dog that he brought in to our relationship and marriage, so Floyd has essentially been in my life for over seven years now, and was of course my dog too, and our boys’ dog. He brought a lot of love, laughter, and kisses to our household, and completed our furry trio of dogs that would ride around town in the back of our big black truck.

He loved to feel the wind in his face, no matter if it was at 30 mile per hour or 70 miles per hour. He would shoot his head around the cab of our truck and the wind would blow his eyeballs back into his head, but he loved the wind in his face.

Floyd would do what I called his “walk abouts”…we would all go somewhere as a family, and old Floyd would just take off in his own direction. The only person that he would respond to or come back to the sound of his voice would be my husband’s. But that is to be expected. They were bachelors together for years, they were golfing buddies, Floyd even went into some places of business around town…he was a local celebrity and everyone knew who Floyd was. He was probably the largest Golden Retriever I had ever seen in my life, standing almost an entire shoulder higher than our other Golden, and at one point weighing in at 137 pounds.

But regardless of who knew Floyd, where he went, or how many adventures he went on…at the end of the day, he was still our Floyd. The big furry mass our boys would lay against in the sunshine in our front yard, the slobbering pooch that hung his head in the wind, and the  big pile of love that would have done anything for his family.

He will never be forgotten…and his wagging tail, happy spirit, and sense of adventure will live on in all of our hearts forever. We’ll miss you big guy…tell Memom “Hi” for us.