Farewell to Alex

I lost my beloved Alex last night. There are no words to describe the loss....the hole it has left in my heart. He has been my faithful companion for seven years, ever since I brought him home from the humane society.

Alex had been abandoned, shot with a pellet gun resulting in a collapsed lung. His stomach had only a piece of foil and pine needles inside. A passing Good Samaritan took him to a vet who almost put him down, but could not bear to destroy this beautiful boy, so good natured and full of life. In the end, she donated her services and he was sent to a foster home to heal. Lucky me. The home he was fostered in was that of a co-worker who knew I was looking for a dog and hooked us up. The volunteers at the pound named him Alex the Awesome Aussie. You could not resist loving this dog.

Alex greated me faithfully everyday with a madly wagging stub of a tail and a frantic happiness that I was home again. No other creature demonstrates its love so faithfully as a dog. He accepted me as I was and never quibbled if dinner was late or I was too tired to take a walk. He was always at my side and more than one time provided a shoulder to cry on. Alex stubbornly would not fetch, but could sniff out even the smallest crumb of food and consume it, even if that meant standing on his hind legs and swiping things off the kitchen counter with his front paw. No garbage bag or can was safe from his exquisite nose.

His best friend was the small grey kitten I adopted two years ago and despite the difference in size, they wrestled and chased each other throughout the house everyday. They were inseparable...and Grace wanders the house now, not understanding what has happened to his friend.

Three months ago the vet told me his heart had a bulge where the wall of the heart was weak and pressing on his windpipe. She told me at most I would only have a year left to share my life with him. I had hoped for more time, but last night I knew....he could not lay down without cutting off his air and paced the house, seeking love and attention which I gave him in abundance. I told him how I loved him and what a privilege it had been to share his life and how I wished he did not have to go. I prayed he would live just until the next morning so I could take him to the vet, knowing there was nothing more to be done, but not willing to give up hope that I could squeeze a little more time with him.

But sometime in the night, he followed his nose and climbed up on the window seat to steal a little bit of cat food, just one more time and collapsed. His great heart beat no more. And that is where I found him and said my last goodbye.

Rest in peace, old dog. May you wake up in a dog park filled with green grass and four-legged friends, where you can run forever in the sun. May you be blessed with endless petting and scratches about your ear that fill your great heart with love everlasting.