Our dog, Max

This morning, our 9 year old dog Max, died in the comfort of his home. Everything started last night, let me retrace my steps....

(This is mostly for my own benefit, so I can look back and remember, so don't feel like you have to read what happened)

Last night we let Max out to go to the bathroom, it was dark out and since he has gotten older he really doesn't roam around. Sometimes it would be hard to even get him off the porch to go to the bathroom! We realized after a while he was not barking at the door for us to let him in. (which is his usual custom) Looked outside and couldn't find him, walked outside and couldn't find him. Dad and Josh went on foot to look (this was at about 10:45) while Kali and I drove around the neighborhood. Finally, at almost 11 my dad called saying he found Max at our neighbors house, at their back door. We were thinking that he must have just gotten confused, (he had lost his hearing and had gotten quite a bit slower this past year from age) but then as my dad was trying to get him to come back home he didn't want to come. Dad was having to force him to come, he said he was acting very strange too. Dad brought him in our garage and noticed his stomach was swollen and he was foaming at the mouth. We all, broken-hearted, decided to say our goodbyes, just in case he didn't make it through the night. (It was pretty obvious that something was going on, when dogs know they are about to die they will usually go away from their home to do it, this is why we were cautious, plus it was NOT like Max to leave the yard.) Woke up this morning, he was yelping/barking from the garage, my mom opened it up to find that he just wanted to be with someone, someone to be there. Kali and I have our bedrooms at the end of the hallway, right across from each other. As he was walking down the hallway, he just collasped in the middle of it and didn't get up. His stomach was much more swollen and he was having trouble breathing. (Josh looked on the internet to see what would be the cause of a swollen stomach and he found that it could possibly have been a tumor, don't know for sure though) My parents made the decision to take him to the vet when it opened (9 am) to have him put down because we didn't want to see him suffering like he was. It was a little past 7 am and we were all around him, petting him and watching. Then, we noticed he was not huffing for breath like he was doing before and different muscles in his body gave way. We knew this was the end. (This is hard for me to type right now, but I want to do this as its fresh in my mind) There was no air coming out or into his mouth, but he was flinching, he did a stretching of his legs, then, he was gone. All we could guess is that they were muscle spasms or his final struggle for air.

We were thankful it happened at home with his family, naturally, rather than being on a table with strangers all around him. This might sound strange to those who don't have animals, but when you have a dog from a puppy stage, 9 years of his life/our life, this dog grows up with you and becomes a part of the family. He was such a sweet dog......loved by all who knew him. He...

.....liked pigtails....

.....helped with Sunday School.....

..... and was our messenger...

Did I mention he was VERY easy going?!

I find it just a little bit ironic that Max died only a week and a half after Grandpa did. Grandpa used to call Max his dog, and whenever he would call he would ask how his dog was. So funny to look back on... Now, don't worry, I don't think "All Dogs go to Heaven", I don't believe dogs have souls like human beings. Yet, we will still miss him greatly....