{"id":48546,"date":"2022-03-01T23:26:42","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T04:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=48546"},"modified":"2022-03-02T09:12:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:12:12","slug":"happy-trails-chase-the-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=48546","title":{"rendered":"Happy trails, Chase the Face"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

I told myself to not write anything before the fact, because that would be time spent on myself and not hanging out with the Face.\u00a0 I still have no idea how people do this, where they schedule the euthanization of their pets, and then literally manage to operate their lives knowing there is a very real clock ticking down the remainder of their life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Needless to say, the time between making the call to the vet and to the eventual saying of goodbye to my dog, has been real hazy, but fortunately for me, I\u2019m the type of person who can throw themselves into work, just so that I don\u2019t have to think about the anxieties of something like having to put my dog down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a fun fact about me, Chase is actually the first dog that I\u2019ve ever own, myself.\u00a0 Every pet I\u2019ve had in the past was either inherited, temporary or technically belonged to someone else, but not actually mine.\u00a0 Chase was the first dog that I\u2019ve ever adopted, paid for, and been solely responsible for in my entire life.<\/span><\/p>\n

I adopted him <\/span>on May 16, 2012<\/a>, from the Atlanta Humane Society.\u00a0 My home had always had dogs in it, and when it stopped having dogs in it, it felt like there was something missing.\u00a0 I was single with no prospects at this time, so having a dog seemed like a no-brainer as far as unconditional companionship was concerned, and I wanted to adopt a rescue because I just felt that it was a more responsible thing to do, seeing as how the pet population is pretty out of control in general.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had visited a couple of shelters leading up to eventually going to the Humane Society, and when I met Wind Chaser<\/em>, I kind of felt pretty quickly that this was the dog that I wanted to adopt.\u00a0 Say what you will about my general preference in dogs, maybe it\u2019s an Asian thing or maybe it\u2019s just me, but this maltese\/shih tsu mix just kind of spoke to me.\u00a0 So I paid the adoption fee in an Amazon donation, and shortened to Chase, was now my dog.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

His history before mine was murky and not necessarily the most positive, but at least I can probably say without much debate that his quality of life was better in my care than it was prior to being rescued.\u00a0 He was owned by an animal hoarder in Alabama, who basically was running an illegal puppy mill.\u00a0 Chase came to me skittish and weary around people, but when I brought him home and presented a crate, he hopped right into it as if he knew it was the safest place in the world for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the real gateway to gaining his trust was when he met the cats in the house, because being around other animals immediately calmed him down and warmed him up to the house, as it was clear that he was around lots of other animals in his past life.\u00a0 From there, it didn\u2019t take him long to settle in, and he immediately fit right into his new life with me, and things were pretty good basically the whole way.<\/span><\/p>\n

His ambiguous past led all the way to his general records, as in he really had none.\u00a0 His approximate age is something that was never truly known, but taking him to the vet, something about his bloodwork said that it was a good guess that he was between 6-7 years when I had adopted him.\u00a0 That being said, he was 16-17 years old to this point, so it\u2019s safe to say that he had lived a pretty long and life expectancy life, but it\u2019s still never heartbreaking to when it\u2019s time to say goodbye.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last decade, Chase has been a constant in my life.\u00a0 He followed me when we sold the old house, and he and I dove into apartment life for a few months before I would end up buying another home.\u00a0 He was always there throughout the years when I was a mopey, ronery single guy, to when mythical gf came into the picture, and then I got married and had a kid, and then had another one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally I knew that he wasn\u2019t going to live forever, and as the years passed and the number of priorities and responsibilities grew and increased, it wasn\u2019t lost on me that Chase was getting older all the while.\u00a0 I have a distinct point where I realized that he was truly a senior dog, which is when I would take him outside for my after work walks in the yard to try and get him to poop, but he wouldn\u2019t sprint in circles around me like he once did.\u00a0 Accidents around the house started happening more frequently, and I\u2019d get mad about them, but more mad at myself than him, because I knew that these were primarily occurring because my life was getting too busy to help him get outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

The year my first child was born, I actually had concerns about if he\u2019d live long enough to get a cute picture with my daughter.\u00a0 I saw a shirt at the store that had a little maltese on it that looked a lot like Chase, so I bought it with the full intention of getting a picture of them together. \u00a0It was a size 6 months, so Chase had to keep it together to make this happen.\u00a0 Not only did we succeed, but we actually made it to the point where my second child was on track to be able to wear the shirt and get a picture with the Face.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, this is the point in the journey where the lump was discovered and it became very real, very quickly of his remaining mortality.\u00a0 Fortunately for the sake of making good memories, I was able to get my desired photo of my loyal dog with my second daughter, wearing the same maltese shirt, but there\u2019s no mistaking the physical toll that cancer and the years had done to Chase.<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew that I told myself that I wouldn\u2019t drag out the end, because I don\u2019t want to keep him alive for my sake and when the day is over, I know that I made the right call.\u00a0 If I didn\u2019t make the call, the cancer would have eventually gotten him, especially since it was growing at a rapid rate.\u00a0 I wanted him to go out on his terms, while he was still together in mind, and physically capable of moving.<\/span><\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t at all reduce the pain, the hurt and the guilt of making the decision to end a life.\u00a0 In a way, it\u2019s almost worse that I pulled the plug when I did, because he was still eating, even if it was significantly less than he should be and was dropping weight, he was still eating from time to time.\u00a0 His bowels and urination was still working, and he was very much still there in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, like I said, if I didn\u2019t do it, the cancer would have gotten him, and then I might have gone out in pain and I\u2019d have come home to a dead dog one day, and I applaud his tenacity at finishing strong, because among the things he had working against him, aside from the cancer, was a high-grade heart murmur.\u00a0 But even all the way to the end, my good boy\u2019s heart never gave up.\u00a0 He ate his last meal of real people chicken mixed with bacon grease.\u00a0 He went into the yard after I got home from work and took a poop like a good boy is supposed to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

We played with my daughters for a little bit before it was time to formally say goodbye for the last time.\u00a0 I\u2019ll never not be able to forget my daughter saying \u201cbye bye chase\u201d and waving.\u00a0 The cries she made before I walked out the door.\u00a0 My oldest isn\u2019t yet two years old yet, but she had taken a big liking to Chase in the last few months as she grew into recognition, familiarity and coherence.\u00a0 Some of my favorite sights over the last few weeks has been giving her the leash and watching her walk Chase, and Chase being the ever-gentle and compliant pet to my daughter.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then while at the vet, they made me wait a tremendous amount of time before it was time.\u00a0 The worst part about it all was that I had let Chase down on the ground so he could wander about, and he was clearly having one of his better days, moving around the room and investigating all the scents and furniture of the exam room.\u00a0 His hips weren\u2019t giving out and he wasn\u2019t physically deteriorating in front of me at that moment, he was just being a dog and looking around.<\/span><\/p>\n

But then it was time, and the doctor didn\u2019t waste much time.\u00a0 She asked if I\u2019d been through this before, and I told her I had.\u00a0 But never with my own dogs though, and minutes later, I had set Chase free.\u00a0 No more cancer.\u00a0 No more anxiety of dad being too busy to let him out to pee.\u00a0 No more field trips to Jen\u2019s place because my life was getting too hectic and I was drowning.<\/span><\/p>\n

I said goodbye to <\/span>my<\/em> dog today, but I already know he\u2019s in a better place.\u00a0 But his family here already misses the heck out of him.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be a little rough for a few days, being reminded that he\u2019s not here anymore.\u00a0 I already turned the corner into the dining room where the dog crates are, and still expected to see him hanging out in his crate, comfy and content in his bed, with the door open, so he could wander if he wanted to, but chooses the safety and security that it provides him.\u00a0 But he\u2019s not there anymore.\u00a0 He\u2019ll never be there anymore.\u00a0 Eventually, I\u2019ll pack his crate, his beds, and all his effects up, and that\u2019s going to break me all over again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Undoubtedly, this is the worst part about owning pets, as all pet owners inevitably learn in their lives.\u00a0 But the unconditional love and companionship, and memories made from having them invariably makes it always worth it, even if causes tremendous pain when it\u2019s time to say goodbye.<\/span><\/p>\n

And just so that I\u2019ll always remember those good times, the following is a smattering of photos from over the years of my trusty dog.\u00a0 I love you Chase and I will always miss you.<\/span><\/p>\n