Life With Boys: The Loss of a Pet Dog

Hubby and I adopted Clemens, a golden retriever lab mix, when he was 10 weeks old in the Fall of 2003. He was our third fur baby to join our family; our dog Sydney was 2 at the time and our cat Charlie was 3. Amazingly, all three fur babies got along well! When our boys were born, our fur babies formed an immediate bond with our boys. We were truly blessed!

A few weeks ago our Clemens was diagnosed with cancer. On the day we found out about his illness, I snapped the picture above of our cat Charlie watching over Clemens. Even though the two got along, it was a rare site to see them on the same couch. It’s as if Charlie knew how sick Clemens was.

Since Clemens was a senior, we decided to forgo any cancer treatment. It wouldn’t be fair to him. Putting him through treatment to prolong the inevitable would not be fair. Not to mention the costs involved. We kept him comfortable, let him sleep on the couch and fed him whatever he wanted. Unfortunately he didn’t have an appetite for much. Last week he stopped eating and we knew it was time.

Oh, how could it be time? But we didn’t want to watch him suffer.

Those sweet brown eyes never stopped loving. His tail never stopped wagging; even though he was literally starving to death and dehydrated.

The hardest part has been addressing death with our boys. The passing of Clemens has hit Capt. M (age 7) particularly hard. Capt. M refused to eat one night since Clemens’ wasn’t here. He also refused to sleep, although heavy eyes finally won out. The day after Clemens passed, Capt. M thoughtfully picked flowers to lay on his grave. Oh how hubby and my hearts ache; not only for our fur baby but for Capt. M having to deal with loosing a pet.

Clemens was always a happy go lucky dog. He had a goofy smile where he would lift his upper lip and show his teeth! He will live forever in our hearts!

We buried Clemens near our fruit trees since he LOVED fruit. He would often pick peaches off the tree. In the spring, we will plant a new tree in his honor.

Lot’s of love to fur babies; they are so special and part of the family!

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Renae Chiovaro

Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.