"Do you want to hear bad news?"
My stomach drops. "Whhhhhhhat."
"Addy got hit by a car."
Pause. "And she..."
"I'm going to dig a hole to bury her right now. Do you want her by the apple tree?"
"Oh my God. Yes, you can put her there."
Addy and her buddy Charlee had developed a bad habit of traveling across the road lately. They hadn't done it for weeks, possibly months, but there was also a stray (or should I say dog that was not being supervised by its owner) wandering around the town leaving smells everywhere. When we noticed this dog wandering, we noticed the habit getting worse. They always came home as soon as we called for them. Most days were spent following my mom around the farm, to the pond, the garden, then laying on the porch. We never kept her tied up, she was well behaved.
Addy had bad hips. Severe hip dysplasia on both sides. She was diagnosed really early, which meant that the "puppy" in her was gone quickly. She became a very laid back dog early on. She had the absolute best temperment that Chris and I had ever witnessed in a dog. Sure, she had a few typical dog annoyances: the shedding, the begging (not whining but needing to be approximately 6 inches away from you when you're eating in case you drop something), and the big poops in the yard. All of this was nothing to us. She was great with Mason, she was a great hunting partner for Chris (for what she could tolerate) and she was a member of our family.
It would have been a year or less before we had to put her down because of her pain. It was managed, for now, with painkillers on the rough days, but she was progressively getting worse each time she stood up.
Maybe it was better that it happened quickly.
Here's a little photo memoire of our 1st baby girl:
Rest in Peace
Addison Mrdutt
3/1/07 - 7/25/12
That sucks. She was a great dog and her and Jake got along great. :(
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