Every Pet Owners Obligation

    Today I am sitting in my chair and as usual my dog Sammy is wedged in between my leg and the side of the chair.  For some reason he likes to nestle down in tight spaces to sleep.  It is a somber time because tomorrow I will be taking him to the vet to be put to sleep.  You see he is 14 plus years old.  He went blind a while back and last year he went deaf.  Cathy and I have had to deal with these health issues for awhile and managed to still have him living in the house.  Not too long ago he developed a kidney issue where he cannot seem to control his peeing.  I have cleaned up a few messes in the house and have tried to take him out more often but it does not seem to help.  I took him to the vet and he said because of his age his kidneys are not functioning as good as they were when he was younger.  So he drinks more water to compensate and cannot hold it as long as he did before.  So after giving much thought to the situation I have decided it is time for him to be put to sleep.  Any pet owner knows that one day they may have to make that same decision and every pet owner knows how tough it is to do.  He came to us via my son Jacob and daughter-in-law Hayley many years ago.  He has been a good dog and I have enjoyed walking him around the neighborhood.  When he went blind he managed to still walk around the neighborhood by smell.  I know my neighbors will miss seeing him with me, as he has stopped to get to know a lot of them.  It will be a hard day tomorrow for me, but I have had to go thorough it with several of my previous dogs.  It does not get easier and it will take time to get over it.  My brother Dirk has been kind enough to allow me to bury Sammy at his place, as he has a lot of acreage. I have always buried my pets as I think that is an obligation I take on when I own a pet.  

You have been a good dog Sammy