Pets Die Too Soon

Almost since the day we brought Adler home, I've been wondering how long she'll live. The lifespan for a Bernese Mountain Dog says 7- 9 years - much shorter than a lot of other breeds. In my opinion, this is much too short, but long enough for them to become part of your family and for you to love them so much that you spend the entire day that they died with red puffy eyes thinking about those last moments of their life. I dread that day when it comes, like I dreaded it when I was a kid and had to say goodbye to my Cocker Spaniel, Bozo, and my cat, Ashley.

This topic really hit home twice this year. Once when I was reading John Grogan's best seller "Marley and Me" - a great story of how a dog and its owners grow up together before Marley must leave them for doggie heaven. The second instance was just last week when I sent my friend, Jill, the link to this blog. She emailed me back and I asked how her own dog was doing as it had been sick. Jill got Colby when we were seniors at IU. She bought him for her boyfriend's birthday (he's now her husband of almost 10 years). I remember the first day she brought him home and put him down in the foyer of our sorority house. He was an adorable little Yellow Lab that could hardly keep himself upright on our slippery floor. Now my friend tells me that she had to put him to sleep that morning after twelve years. He had cancer. The night before, she wanted to make his last meal a memorable one so she made him a steak for dinner and gave him ice cream for dessert. She writes, "twelve years is a long time and I'm so glad we have had him as long as we have." Yes, Jill, I agree, but even twelve years seems much too short for something we love so much.