Enjoy Them While You Hav’em
Life can be a bitch sometimes no doubt about it, and just when you think that you’re having a bad day you hear of somebody else whose day seems just that little bit worse.
I recently had to let go of my own Luther and just the other day, heard that a friend of my brothers’ had to make the same tough decision I recently made.
If you can believe it, this is the second time that this woman has had to make the decision to end the life of an active service dog, and making this situation even more weird is the fact that both dogs were of a similar age.
Her dog just lost to her, developed lymphoma at the age of 7 and despite opting for chemotherapy, his health deteriorated very quickly.
He was still in full service to her, a fact that differs from my own situation a little bit.
Luther was retired, and I had already retrained with my current guide Lars, a beautiful svelt black lab.
Oh what to do?
I’m so very sorry to hear of Luther’s passing. I just read your blog and am in tears (please pass the Kleenex). He was a great dog, that’s for sure! Of course, I remember him as the wild puppy, whom my friend referred to as “that big old ox”. I have fond memories of puppy raising him and am so glad that he lived his life with you, as your partner (in crime, perhaps??).
I recently retired Puebla and she’s been awaiting a new home at Guide Dogs for the past month. I know it’s not the same, but every day I question my decision to have said goodbye to her. She was my partner (and life saver) for eight and a half years. I miss her terribly!
I’ll be getting my new service dog from CCI in May. I actually attended the two week team training program in February, but the dog I was matched with was dropped the night before graduation for medical reasons. I really kicked myself in the butt at that point, since I had already said goodbye to Puebla.
Please stay in touch! I’d love to see pics of you and Lars!
Marylin