A couple of days ago, I had to take a trip that I knew was coming but I really didn’t want. Its only a few miles from our house to the Veterinarian’s place and its a trip we have taken many times. This time was different. My buddy of twelve and a half years had been very sick for a long time. It got worse over the past few weeks. When he couldn’t stand up anymore, we both knew the time had come.

Over twelve years ago, Debbie and I drove to the mountains of Western North Carolina to bring Angus and his brother Rufus home. We had raised other dogs that all passed and I think we both just missed the sound of little feet running around our house.  So we were careful to find a reputable breeder and we found our guys. We had raised Shar Peis before and we wanted to stay with that breed. Save your lectures on adopting and rescue dogs. I support both. But they are all God’s creatures so we made our choice.

We had forgotten how much work puppies were. Plus, having two brothers in the same house brought with it all kinds of new excitement. When we brought them home, they got into all manner of trouble. Just as all brothers do, they sought adventure where they could find it and you had to keep an eye on them.

One Sunday we came home from church and let them out of their playpen. We opened the doggie door to the back yard and went to change our clothes. It was strangely quiet. Despite having the door closed, you could always hear them wrestling or chasing each other. But no sounds were heard.
When we came out of the bedroom, the first thing we saw was the toilet paper coming out of the guest bathroom. It was still intact and it was leading from the bathroom into the living room. From the living room, it went unbroken through the doggie door. When we went on the back porch, we looked at the still unbroken toilet paper stream going down the ramp to the yard. There in the yard sat our two boys. Rufus was eating the paper as it lay in a mound in front of him. Angus had his world famous smile on his face as if to say “Look what we did!!!”
Neither Debbie or I had the presence of mind to get a camera. It wouldn’t have mattered. We were both laughing so hard, I don’t think we could have taken a very decent picture.

Rufus developed very bad hip problems at the age of five and his condition got to a point where he had no quality of life. That was the toughest day of my life.

Until Wednesday. I saw the strength leaving Angus. Turns out he had a tumor that was slowly robbing him of his sight and probably much worse. I stayed in the room as he was cared for in his last moments. It was the first time he looked peaceful in a long time. The house has seemed etpy ever since.

I’m Glad you are together again boys. I hope someone remembered to shut the powder room door before you started playing.

For my regular readers, I’m taking a few days off. I hope that at least once in your life you had a friend as faithful as Angus. I know his memory will last for the rest of my life.

Mister Mac