The Best Friend

Sorry. Am behind schedule today. Our wee beastie boy, Dirty Harry, AKA The Bubba is not having a good week. After all, he's 107 dog years old and the vet warned us last February that he probably would succumb within that month. She was wrong! Heart disease and prostate cancer be damned! She advised is to keep him happy and pampered and let him gain a few pounds. Happily, he is still plugging along with good quality of life but he is slowing down drastically this last couple of weeks.

We've spent the last 6 months babying The Bubba. We take him on car rides to nowhere -- to a dog that is rather like a gambling cruise out into the Atlantic. The destination doesn't matter, it's the going and coming that is the event.

His poppy takes him on long manly-man walks where he lets The Boy sniff things that I do not allow. I get down on the floor several times a day with the little guy and give him massages and let him give me a thousand kisses.

We take him to drive in restaurants and let him order from the car. He loves chicken nuggets and plain hamburgers. Tonight, I asked W4D to go by Arby's on the way home from work and get the dog a roast beef sandwich for supper.

Trust me when I tell you that our dog has lived the Life of Riley. He has been a movie star and has a dramatic death scene to his film credit, he's traveled internationally, he loves boating and sailing and camping and he has his own raft for swimming in the pool.

A wet pooch in the pool.

He has done everything that a pampered pet can do except father puppies. His whole life has been a righteous joy for him and for we who love him. While we have been preparing for his passing for many months now, it still is not going to be easy on any of us. While I take great comfort in knowing that The Bubba (Omar Shariff Kyam) has lived the best possible life, it doesn't make it any less sad for us to lose our beloved companion of more than 15 years. As long as the vet says he is not in pain, we just keep loving him and making him happy. When the day comes that we sense even a small amount of pain or discomfort, we will help ease him over to the other side.

We called Kait earlier in the week and suggested she get home to visit him ASAP. He doesn't appear to be in any pain but his heart is wearing out and sometimes, it takes a very long time to awaken him. The Bubba was her birthday gift in 1990.

Kaitlin and Her Bubba in 1990

We didn't want her to miss saying goodbye to him. So Kait came for a visit today and we played with the dog and chatted and reminisced and I can't stop crying and that is why there is no blog today.