GUS

 I came home without Gus today.  My heart is broken.  I sat there at the Lafayette Veterinary Care Center waiting for the final diagnosis wondering if I did the best thing by adopting my goofy big boy. 

He was born in December 2021 and was just 6 months old.  He was a couch addict, and a big goof ball.  I forced both the dogs off the furniture so he proceeded to adopt the stool and would perch on it  and rock it back and forth.  He was an intrusive, in your face kind of dog.  I couldn't go the the bathroom without him sitting in front of me to lick my face and nuzzle my neck.  He was a gentle giant who loved his fur brother Bruce from the moment they met.  They played, wrestled and slept together. Bruce would keep his paw around his neck in sleep.  

We adopted him April 23.  He was gangly and tall weighing in about 60 pounds.  At his first vet visit here he was up to 100 lbs and was taller and more gangly.  He had trouble walking with his big feet and often tripped himself when he tried to run.  He and Bruce were instant best buds and were never far from each other. We have a large fenced in back yard and they ran and played until they dropped.  He ate 8 cups of food a day and drank gallons of water.  He had a large umbilical  hernia that we watched closely hoping that it would be okay until about 15 months when he would get neutered and have the hernia repaired at the same time.  He was a constant source of irritation to little Peanut but never hurt her.  He just felt it was his job to poke her with his big nose and bathe her with his tongue.  Peanut did not like the attention.  

The dogs learned to open the gate and they would escape and run the neighborhood.  This behavior just started about a month ago.  Josh re-secured the fence and checked for holes.  I do not know how they got out last night but they did.  Bruce came home alone and was banished to the laundry room for time out.  I got home at ten and went thru my neighborhood calling for him.  Bruce is stronger and faster and I believe that he left his buddy in the dust and Gus got lost.  We have a coyote problem in our neighborhood and they have been feeding on the neighborhood cats.  My big fear was that Gus would encounter them and they would kill him.  He didn't view any dog as a threat.  He was just a big big baby.  Hudson my neighbor's son stopped me in my car as I was looking for Gus.  He had traps out for the coyotes but disabled them when he heard about Gus just in case Gus would get hurt.  Bruce whined when I let him out of the laundry room and went from door to door I believe looking for Gus.   

This morning, Hudson's mom Summer knocked at my door to tell me that her daughter Savannah found him in a ditch off of the main street to my road.  Josh and I hopped in the car and drove the two blocks.  He was surrounded by the neighbors and they had given him water. The S.O. was there to manage traffic.   He wagged his tail when he saw Josh and Joshua was able to lift him up and put him in the back of my car.  He was so broken.  His front legs were horribly swollen and his back leg was angled.  

I took him to the emergency Vet clinic and they helped me get him on a stretcher.  He was in considerable pain.  They managed his pain immediately and took him off for xrays.  The news was not good.  He was damaged so badly and after talking to my friend.  Dr. Kay McGuire I made the decision to put him down.  Becky was in Lafayette and came with the kids for support.  We got to be with him and love on him for a time and then he gently and quietly crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  I cannot describe how devasted Josh and I feel.  It will be a long while before the pain goes away. 

I want to first say how grateful I am to Dr. Ali Guidry, and staff Jessica, Ashlyn, and Andrew for their obvious compassion with our big baby and with me.  You all are a credit to your profession.  You made a horrible situation bearable because of your kindness.  

To the person who hit Gus: I know your car was damaged.  He was a big dog.  It was most likely dark and he is black.  I do not harbor any ill will towards you.  I am grateful to the people who tried to minister to him and to Savannah  for finding my boy so that we could have that final time together.  

My house is quiet.  Bruce is on the couch next to me.  He did not eat this morning.  He knows that something is off.  My neighbor Maria has gone through  the loss of two dogs with me.  I value her compassion as well.  To all those who prayed for my boy on Facebook I can only say thank you. 

I had a fleeting vision at that last moment of Gus and Koray playing together in the place that Dogs go and had peace.