Today, I had to have my good and faithful friend, Dudley put to sleep. It may be too much for some to understand but I am honestly heartbroken about it and frankly holding back tears as I type this. You may wonder why?... but maybe you'll understand if you read on.
Dudley turned 14 years old only last weekend. He was a Labrador/Dalmation mix and was as true a friend as I have EVER had in my life. 14 years ago my childhood sweetheart wife, two small children and I were on vacation and got him from someone with 11 black Lab pups in a box at Riverside Park in Kernville, CA. The kids took turns holding his sleeping, fat little 9 week old body on their laps all the way home. Dudley never whimpered, never ever had an accident. He was housebroken from the very first day.
The years passed, my kids grew up and Dudley was there for all of it. He would run like the wind to beat my then-12 year old son, Thomas to the flyballs I would hit him everyday after work in the summer. Thomas is a week short of 26 now and his wife is pregnant with his own first child. Dudley would sit for hours on my daughter Katie's bed and let her dress him up. Katie is 24 now, a recent law school graduate and studying for the bar exam later this month.
My childhood sweetheart wife? She came home one day, a month short of our 20th anniversary, almost 9 years ago and told me she wanted out. To this day I could not tell you in a sentence why my marriage ended. Dudley was there to lick my hand when I shed some tears over that. He sat right by my side when I sat alone and raged at the ceiling about the end of my marriage. When the house we lived in was sold and all our belongings split up on the front lawn like so much junk, Dudley was with me. He jumped into the moving van as we drove away. I eventually made a new life and Dudley was there for all of it.
My unsolicited advice to those of you with loved pets is to enjoy them everyday. Be more patient than it is your first reaction to be. Indulge them with a few more minutes of ear scratching; and oh hell, get off your butt and take them for a walk; it isn't much to ask.
Here are some of the last pictures I took of Dudley only a short while ago. With him is Sooner, my 3-1/2 year old Labrador. Sooner will never help me raise children, but I am sure he will be a fine pet. I hope Dudley forgives me. I feel like such a low down rotten louse for putting him down. If "all dogs go to heaven" I hope Dudley puts in a good word for me and gives me a bark and a lick when I see him someday. Rest in Peace my friend. I will never forget you.
