Saturday, November 12, 2011

Goodbye Jingles.........

A Boy and his Dog.....


 Jingles was my very first dog I bought totally on my own. He came to me in 1995, two years before I met Mike, and four years before Michael was born. He was my first "child". He was a mix between a cocker spaniel and a poodle (before that mix became in essence it's own breed) He was smart. I was able to teach him tricks like turning right, turning left, shake, stand, and roll over fairly quickly. In 1997 he was joined by Mike, and in 1998 by our second dog, Maggi. Needless to say, Michael has grown up with those two dogs for his entire 12yrs on this planet. In 2000, Jingles and his "sister" Maggi rode in the car with us from South Carolina to Washington. They even set their paws on the Grand Canyon.

Jingles was also very ornery. The first night Michael was home from the hospital he ran away. Here I was a new mother, walking around the neighborhood at midnight calling for my dog. I obviously had nothing else better to do. He would run away at least once more after that. In fact, the picture above was after I had picked him up from the pound after his last attempt. He apparently thought there were greener pastures aside from our house-either that or he wanted some time to himself and to escape his crazy family. Jingles just had an ornery, stubborn streak.

In 2008, we had to put Maggi down. It was hard, and very sudden. One day she was fine, two days later she was gone. There was a huge hole left in our hearts when we came home that fateful day. We focused on Jingles. Having him there to come home to made things a little easier.

This year getting around became tougher and tougher for Jingles. He often slept in Michael's room for most of the day, only coming out for food/water, or to go outside. He became blind in one eye and hard of hearing. As his mobility decreased, I asked Michael if he ever thought Jingles might want to go to heaven. He began to cry and said Yes. That was about a month ago.

Last Tuesday evening I told Michael to feed Jingles and let him outside. A few minutes went by and next thing I knew, Michael was carrying Jingles to the living room. He sadly told me that Jingles could no longer walk. He set him down on the carpet, and his legs were completely limp. He did not want to eat, and barely drank from his bowl (with Michael bent over holding him up). I told Michael we should do everything that night to make Jingles comfortable. Michael put him in his crate w/his sheepskin and a blanket sewn by my grandmother 25+yrs ago. I then told my hubby that it was time to put Jingles down. Michael spent the night on the floor right next to his beloved friend so that he would not be alone. We all slept with heavy hearts that night.

Wednesday morning at 8:20 a.m. my very-grown-up 12yr old carried his best friend on his last journey. He gently put Jingles on the scale so that the vet could weigh him (he was less than 20lbs by this point), and then held him until the end. My darling boy has lost his best friend. There is not a heart in this house that is more broken than his.

Michael and Maggi

Michael and Jingles