Monday, May 28, 2007

The sadness of this past weekend...

This past weekend we said goodbye to our 4 legged family member. On Friday night we had a family come by that we thought would be perfect, but they didn't work out so well. They had another dog and the 2 didn't get along very good. So, after that meeting I contacted the second family that we had chosen.

We heard back on Saturday, but Princess was at a party and Mr. Hockey had gone with his dad to help move a family from our church. I really wanted the kids here, they would have been devastated to not been able to say goodbye. So, we made arrangements for the dad to come over later in the evening when he was done work.

Well, Princess and Mr. Hockey took Snoopy out around 9:30ish for one last walk and all the neighbours got to say goodbye. Some even took pics of the kids and Snoopy and said that they would make copies for them afterwards. They came in and I snapped piles of pictures of the kids with him too, for our memories.

We have had dogs in the past, Goliath was our first one and Goldie was our second. Both of them were wild...the first one would kill Squirrels galore, he was a rottie/sheppard cross and was NUTS!! Then the other one, Goldie, was meant to live on a farm. He barked and barked and wanted to run and run...

Snoopy, he was just right...he fit in soo good. Pooky would climb and crawl and grab him all over and he would take it. They would also wrestle, with teeth - both of them - and he never hurt her, it was always a playing thing. He put up with Cutie Pie and her bugging...if anyone knows her, or another 5 year old, who doesn't know when to stop with the bugging...then you know what I mean. He was house trained quickly and never barked too much. This was a hard thing to do, for all of us.

So, the dad came to meet Snoopy around 10:30 at night. The kids were all up and we all went to the front door to see how the meeting went. Snoopy acted on cue for him. Sat when he was told, shook a paw, didn't jump up...he was great. He seemed to really like the guy and was excited to go outside with him. We all went, with dog food and supplies in hand, loaded up his truck with it all and said one last bye and hug to Snoopy. Then we helped get Snooy into the truch and we came in the house.

The kids, including Pooky, immediately dropped to the floor in anguish and started bawling. Now, I don't mean just crying, I mean sobbing, bawling, wailing. So, we comforted them the best we could and then there was another knock on the door. I went back to see what was up and the dad handed me a $10 bill and said that he understood how the kids were feeling and to treat them out to ice cream. He wanted us to know that his 4 kids were going to be so happy to have a dog and Snoopy would really enjoy the lake across the street.

I nearly cried...that was such a nice thing to even think about doing. We told the kids that night that we would use the money to buy them all betta fish instead of ice cream and they were thrilled. Off they went to bed, still upset.

The next morning during breakfast, Princess said that it was a really nice thing for that man to do, to give us money. We gave Snoopy and all the supplies away for free, we just wanted to make sure he would be happy. She then asked me if I would have done that...and I had to answer honestly...I would have felt bad for the family that was giving him away, but I probably would not have thought to go back and give some money to the kids...does that make me a bad person? I don't think so, but it reassures me that we made the right choice.


  1. Oh gosh, that must have been hard. I feel for all of you. When I was 9, my father accepted a pastoring position in West Virginia and there were no pets allowed in the parsonage. So, we had to say good-bye to our bassett hound and my cat of 6 years. It was tough. I know how you guys are feeling. At least it sounds like Snoopy is going to be with a thoughtful, loving family that appreciates what your pet meant to you and will take good care of him.

  2. That is sad...but it does sound like he's going to a good home.