The Post I Never Wanted to Write

When I started this blog, I knew it would not last forever.  I knew that one day I would have to share the news that Petey was no longer with us.  I really thought the day would come sooner than it has, so I am thankful for that.  I've known since the end of July that the end was nearer than it ever had been before.  Now, I know that Petey is in his last hours as I type.  By the time this is read, he may already have crossed the rainbow bridge.

I've called the vet and scheduled his final appointment.  They will come to the house this afternoon and administer the medication required to end his pain.  Petey had a hard weekend.  His back legs just aren't getting the job done any more.  He'll try to stand only to fall repeatedly.  Once he finally gets up, he has little to no control over his steps.  He walks into stuff, big stuff like walls and furniture.  John and I have resorted to carrying him.  He lets us.  The young Petey would not have allowed such an indignity.  Now, he's content to be carried.  As hard as it is and will be for us, it is time to end his misery.

We have many fun and many frustrating memories of the little goof.  Our life took a dramatic turn that we never anticipated when we took him in.  In spite of his many little quirks or maybe because of them, he wormed his way into our hearts as well as our lives.  Memories of Petey will surround us for a long time, even longer than it will take to get rid of the last bit of his fur on the furniture.  We'll hold those memories near as we miss his presence with us.

I'll leave this blog up and welcome comments of any memories of Pete.  I may post my own memories from time to time.  I will miss him, more than I care to admit.

Petey the Babysitter

Petey's not too keen on the baby coming over.  He's getting accustomed to it though.

Petey's Beds

Petey loves a good place to burrow down and nap.  That is nothing new.  I've blogged before about all of the beds he has all over the house.  He has a bed or presence in every room in the house with the only exception being the hall bathroom.  (The only place he'll drink water is from a bowl in the back bathroom, not in the kitchen next to his food bowl!)  Never mind that the humans only have one bed and they share it!  Of course, there is the bed in the guest room, but still; Petey has more beds.

He has a bed in the bedroom:

Here he is making good use of it.

He has a bed in the guest bedroom:

His beloved yellow blanket.

He has a bed in the living room:

A pillow and a couple of blankets where he can rest while we watch TV.

However, even with this many beds, it isn't quite enough.  Not for Petey.  Yesterday, he took his bed obsession to a whole new level.

It started first thing in the morning, when he wasn't in the bedroom bed.  This is odd, since his first rule is that no one sleeps alone in the house.  Even though his back legs prevent him from actually sleeping with the humans, he stays in the same room if at all possible.  I looked in all of his typical spots and a few that weren't and couldn't find him.  I was just about to call John at work to see if he's left him out when he went to work.  Before I made the call, I remembered one last spot in the guest bedroom.  

I found him in a corner behind a rocking chair on some pillows.  We'd pulled the pillows out from under the bed to make room for a mattress.  We had not yet found a new home for the pillows, but Petey made good use of them in the meantime.  (Sorry, I didn't think to take a picture.)

A little later in the morning, the baby came over.  To say Petey is jealous would be a understatement.  He is, but he has not been aggressive towards her at all.  He would just rather not have my attention divided.  Nor John's, for that matter.  

The baby has a nice floor play mat:

She spends hours and hours rolling around on the floor on or nearby this.  Yesterday was no exception.  The first time she rolled off of the mat itself and was on the floor playing, Petey eased himself on to the mat and acted as if it was right where he belonged.  The baby really was happy to share and reached over to express her joy by grabbing his tail.  Petey cut his eyes around at her, but never even moved his head or make a sound.  She patted his back leg and he let out a heavy sigh, but never moved a muscle.

I moved her because I didn't want to push Petey too far.  We were going to get the camera to take a picture of Petey on the mat, but he followed us.  So, I put the play mat on a bigger blanket in the floor.  I put the baby on the play mat and Petey got on the blanket next to the mat and all was well.

Finally, during the night last night, the blanket we have on my side of the bed fell in to the floor.  I did not know it happened, but Petey did.  His bed is on John's side of our bed, but still he realized that the blanket was in the floor.  He repositioned himself on top of that blanket, after scratching around on it some to make it more comfortable!

I'd like to conclude by saying that we learned a valuable lesson about Petey and his bed needs yesterday, but I can't.  I don't think we can fully comprehend just how many beds a dog needs, nor where they need to be.  At least he got a long a little better with the baby.