Molly

Some time ago I wrote about my dog Molly. Today it is with sadness that I write about her life.

Molly is a great dog, she loves us and we love her. She guards our house, she has guarded our children... especially our oldest daughter. When she was born she would sleep by her crib and no one got to her without Molly's approval. This year she helped our youngest daughter get over her fear of dogs by being her lovely self.

When we first got her she was a ball of energy. She would pull you whenever you took her for a walk and if you left the front door open and a cat or dog walked by the house she would take off like a bullet after it. She never attacked a cat or another dog but she was really excited to run up to it as fast as possible.

One night at our old house we left our window open at night. She and I woke up at the same time at a sound. Her head was up and her ears pointed alert to some threat. I could just make her out in the light of the moon. Then I heard the sound of little claws running down our hall on the laminate flooring. A RAT! Molly lept into action and she chased it out of our house in a matter of seconds.

I'll never forget the day when her years started to catch up with her. I took her for a run and instead of pulling me the whole run, on the way back she slowed down and wanted to walk the last part of the run. Molly wasn't a young dog anymore.

When we were selling our house she stayed there alone every night and took care of it until it sold. When we moved in with my parents til our new house could be built my Dad took her for a walk every day. I am so thankful my parents allowed us to bring Molly with us.
Then when we moved into our new house she started to have trouble walking and climbing stairs. So now she spends her days in the house and takes a short walk across the street to go to the bathroom.

When we finally planted our lawn someone left the door open and she quickly marched out into the middle of the lawn and went to the washroom. Now I think maybe she was marking the lawn so there would be no doubt that this was her home.

I hope she doesn't remember the days when I got mad that she got into the garbage or ate our ham or haggis or salmon or cake. Or chewed the door frame of our bedroom. Or when she chased the cats and wouldn't come back when we yelled. I hope she remembers the walks and the times we took her to denman island or the many trips to the beach or to the forest.

It was so hard to make the decision to let her go. But we did and we're counting down the days until her appointment hoping they don't go too fast. We're taking her somewhere special every day and giving her lots of hugs and treats. I feel a deep sadness that is not only for the loss of her companionship. I think maybe its a longing for the past and a fear of the future.

But I'm definitely a miracle man and I see signs. I feel like I saw a sign that this is the right time to let Molly go. She's been such a good dog.

Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth? - Ecclesiastes 3:19-21