I read this and thought of Sawyer and because it has a Mom named Lisa and a 4 year old named Shane:
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very much attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.
We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply, Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
3 comments:
Oh my goodness, no comment. Just kidding. I think the poster's cool. So who's the supporting cast? Benji? Lassie? Skip?
I LOVE all the details you put into the poster! Thanks for reminding me about the orange square to make it even bigget to read them all!
I read this and thought of Sawyer and because it has a Mom named Lisa and a 4 year old named Shane:
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a
ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's
owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy,
Shane, were all very much attached to Belker and
they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker
and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family
there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered
to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog
in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa
told me they thought it would be good for the
four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They
felt as though Shane might learn something from the
experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat
as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so
calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I
wondered if he understood what was going on. Within
a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The
little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition
without any difficulty or confusion.
We sat together for a while after Belker's death,
wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives
are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been
listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled,
we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth
next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting
explanation. He said, "People are born so that they
can learn how to live a good life -- like loving
everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The
four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know
how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply, Speak
kindly. Leave the rest to God.
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