Our sweet Bane

Bane has been the most loyal and protective dog I've ever known. He has alerted us to hundreds, perhaps thousands of "threats", from random animals traipsing through the yard, to people knocking on our door. I have always felt safer with him in the house, knowing that he would fight to the death for any one of us.

I've laughed at his goofy nature many times over, I've shared his "dogness" with him for over 10 years now. He was a presence in our house that can never be replaced, and it's heartbreaking to think that he is really gone. It happened in the blink of an eye...

One day, running around and being his normal goofy self. The next, in excruciating pain and unable to walk more than a few feet at a time. The vet believed that he had several ongoing diseases, including Cushings disease, Intervertebral disk disease, and some type of heart problem. He had been compensating for these for a long time and eventually, it all caught up to him.

Two days ago I saw him sit in one spot in our yard, in the beautiful temperate fall sun, for two hours. Not moving, not making a sound. Just looking around. It was almost like he was contemplating his life, looking through his old eyes, back at all of his best memories. I know such a thing cannot be true, but seeing him sit there for so long made me realize that he was ready to go.

The "soul" had left his eyes. He would stand there, and just look at us, pleading with us..."Do something!"

I've never found myself in a situation where it was necessary to make a decision about the end of a pets life. It was not an easy decision to make...definitely the hardest thing Tim has ever done in his life.

What makes it all seem worse, is that I find myself at the end of his life, second-guessing my past decisions and wondering if I ever made him feel un-loved. Did he know that I loved him as much as I do? I doubt it. He was a wonderful, sweet, rambunctious, goofy, free-spirited, loving creature and a piece of my heart will always belong to him.

We love you, Bane dog. We miss you. I can't wait to see you again.

Bane
May 11, 1999 ~ October 2, 2010