Brown eyes of wisdom (for animal lovers)

[shawmut]

This is in today's Boston Globe...




Brown eyes of wisdom

By Brian McGrory, Globe Columnist | August 31, 2004

They should come with a warning label, these creatures. They should come with a label that says you're going to fall hopelessly in love, only to have your heart shattered before you could ever possibly prepare. And then you face one of life's truly wrenching decisions.

Which is where I am now. Specifically, as I type these words I am on the back deck of a rented house in Maine surrounded by fields and forest, watching a sleeping golden retriever named Harry drift another day closer to death.

He is gorgeous, this dog, with a gray face that shows the wisdom gained from his 10 years on Earth and brown eyes that are the most thoughtful I've ever seen. He is sprawled out on the wood, his blond fur damp from his morning swim and his breathing labored from his disease.

And I ponder the question that has dominated my thoughts for weeks: How will I know when the time is right?



http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/08/31/brown_eyes_of_wisdom/

[IrateCitizen]

1. Yeah, Mr. McGrory has it nailed...

He has been an anchor in bad times, a ballast amid occasional uncertainty, a dose of humility when things might be going a little too well. He has been a sanctuary, a confidant, and an occasional excuse. He regards it as his personal mission to make me laugh, whether by a ritualistic dance over a pig's ear or a gushing lick to my face. He's never once said the wrong thing, and it's impossible to be in a bad mood around him.

All along, he lives by one simple mantra: Count me in. Anything I'm doing, he wants to do as well, no leash or nagging required. At home, he prefers to lie on the stoop of our condominium building, presiding over the world around him.

Every time I am around our dog, a 75-lb, 4-yr old lab mix with boundless energy named Midnight, I can't help but to laugh. In fact, I often wonder if that is the main reason that dogs were put on this earth -- to make us laugh. No matter what else is going on in the world out there, I can't help but smile when I come home to the greeting she gives me -- tongue hanging out of her mouth, tail wagging furiously, barking at me just because she's glad that I'm home again and to tell me that she's ready for anything so long as we can do it together.

[MuseRider]

2. That was beautiful.

It was also hard to read, the tears came early. I sat here with my very own Golden asleep on the couch right beside me. I scratched her and she tapped her tail and I realized that we will be there all too soon. For now, all days a good days with her. Even George Bush* can't stop that.

[Kolesar]

3. We just picked our dog up from the kennel

We had to leave her there and go to a family reunion. Kayla is too old to be taking on difficult trips. She sure was weary when we got her back. It was hard to get her up to go outside this morning.