How do you repay a lifetime of loyalty? As I type this, I lay here beside my Mastiff, Maximus. He's 9 years old and he has bone cancer. He is wasting away and he looks to me to ease his pain. I carried this dog around like I birthed him until he was too big to carry. I have seldom gone anywhere without him. I've had him twice as long as I've had my son. He is a two hundred pound lap dog that has slept in the bed with us since we got him (king size, natch). When I was pregnant with piglet and had hyperemesis and didn't think I would survive, he comforted me. He laid his huge head on my huge belly and he snored. Piglet would instantly calm and still. After piglet was born, when he would cry, laying him on the dog would always relax and comfort him.
How do I explain to my four year old that his buddy, playmate, brother, is gone and will never be back? I know that there are people who have more serious issues, who have to explain why a father, mother, human brother aren't coming back, and I understand that's harder. But right now, in my grief, I can't imagine how anything could be harder. I don't know how to answer the questions that he will ask. I don't know how to soften the blow. So, in my uncertainty, Maximus waits, in pain, for me to gather my courage and help him like he has helped me for so long.
How do I explain to my four year old that his buddy, playmate, brother, is gone and will never be back? I know that there are people who have more serious issues, who have to explain why a father, mother, human brother aren't coming back, and I understand that's harder. But right now, in my grief, I can't imagine how anything could be harder. I don't know how to answer the questions that he will ask. I don't know how to soften the blow. So, in my uncertainty, Maximus waits, in pain, for me to gather my courage and help him like he has helped me for so long.
