This has been put off long enough....
Katie, our lovely boxer had to be put to sleep. Her knee was blown out the way athlete's do. I think theirs is called ACL, but with a dog it is called CCL. After going to the Vet and having her physical and shot, her leg was in extreme pain. She spent the night pacing and panting. I gave her pain pills and benedryl, and it would not come close to touching the pain. I stayed up with her, trying to calm her, thinking, no praying, it was just the anxiety of the day at the Vets. Katie was never out of the house unless it was to get a shot, so going somewhere in the car was very stressful on her.
The next day wasn't much different. She was walking on it like nothing was wrong, but when you went to touch it, she would turn around and give you "the look". We knew what was coming, and tried to give each other the talk about how we would be doing it for the right reasons, for Katie not to be in pain any longer. Which is true, but here is the story:
We got Katie when she was around 6 weeks old, and she was the unwanted white boxer puppy of the litter. I didn't want a puppy, but Charles and my son Jeffrey talked me into it because she was going to die. Breeders do not want a white boxer, and they don't want anyone to know they had a white boxer when people come to inspect their litter mates. So, Katie was kept in the garage by herself, while her litter mates were in the house, nice and warm with mom and dad. Did I tell you she was born in January when it was freezing cold?? So after counting each one of the ribs on her, and watching her shake her way over to me, just wanting to be held, how could I say no? But, the deal was we would keep her until we could find a good home for her. And we did. US! She was so weak that I carried her wrapped up in a blanket like a baby, rocked her in a chair while I was on the computer until she was asleep, and carried her over the grass to do her duty because her paws were raw from the cold concrete. She had sores on her hips bones where her bones actually poked through.
Then I got sick, and was in bed for the next few weeks to come. Katie would learn to love the water bed. I took her out every morning then grabbed her toys and back to my bed we went for the day. This is where she grew up. She became the calmest, quietest, most loving boxer anyone could ever ask for. She never barked. She always knew when I was sick, or in pain. Every night when I would sneak out of bed to get into a hot bathtub, Katie would get up and sit outside the door waiting on me, never leaving until I was back in bed, safe and sound. If I was in there too long, she would come lean her head over the tub and let me know she was really tired and wanted to go back to bed herself, but she wouldn't. She had a bed in her crate, a bed in the living room, and a bed next to my side of the bed..but if I was sick on the couch, her bed was right next to me on the floor by the couch, until she felt I was better. Even up to the end, she stayed by my side, pain and all.
Katie was the easiest dog to train. She knew all the tricks, sit, shake, roll over..you know the main ones. But she also learned to sneeze. One day I was eating grapes, and yes, I know you aren't supposed to feed dogs grapes, and this was before I knew that. Charles said she was a begging dog, but I said we shared food...she while we were sharing some grapes, I started to give her a bite, but I started to sneeze, a few times in a row. Katie stared at me, and slowly started to nod her head, trying to figure out what I was asking of her. Once I noticed, I gave her a bite...pretended to sneeze, she would do it alittle harder , and then harder..until she sneezed!! From that point on, you would tell her to sneeze, and she would.
She also figured out "cheese time". Some how, 6 p.m. because snack time around here. Poor Katie didn't have a snack, so I gave her a piece of cheese. It didn't take long for her to demand that she get something at 6 p.m. She would stand in front of the TV and stare at you. Now, I mean she would literally stare you down until you moved your head, and then she would move hers to match yours. (anything to block your view) She would continue this until someone would start laughing which then she would get excited and run into the kitchen, and stare at the refrig, or just make a lap and come right back and stare at you some more. Sometimes I would forget and she would get right in my face with those big eyes, and stare me down, and when I would ask her what she wanted, Charles would laugh and ask me what time it was, and off to the kitchen she would run.
Katie had a great life. She was very, very spoiled, and was almost 10 yrs. old which is old for a boxer, especially one with the starting in life that she had. She also had congestive heart failure and crappy hips as well. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't have about 30 toys at one time. She knew every time we came home with a plastic bag, she could stick that pug nose in it and find something that was for her. She has 3 beds, so if one wasn't cool enough or warm enough for her, one of the others would be. We always has a fan running for her since the congestive heart made her panic some, so it would always be the place she would go to when she felt she couldn't breathe. Treats, I can't even count the treats that she would get, and she knew which cupboard had which treat in it, so depending on which mood she was in dictated which cupboard she ran to and stared at until you showed up. Pillows and blankets...she had them too. So many beside my bed that getting up in the middle of the night was a trick trying to toe tap on everything to figure out which was a blanket, pillow or Katie, so I could stand up and get to the bathroom....and as always, her right behind me.
It is so quiet here at home, and I do just about anything not to be here. I miss her terribly. I am still finding her little white hair in places, which brings on the tears, and the memories. Charles and I were with her until the end. She was quiet and out of pain, and it was much harder on us than it was on her. I swear I hear her at night, her little tags clanking together, or her heavy sigh at night by my side of the bed when she is trying to get comfortable. I never thought I could love a dog like I love her...but she wasn't a dog, she was our best friend
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