There is a great debate among my siblings and parents: to pet or not to pet.
Well. We here on Hagey hill obviously lean on the "keeping pets" side of things.
The general feeling of the anti-pet crowd is that pets are merely cute balls of future heartbreak.
Oh. Oh yes.
See, six years ago when we saw that silly, funny looking, overweight guy at the Pet Smart adoption day, I agreed to bring him home.
Jonah's story tugged at my heart. Two years he'd been waiting for a rescue, at nearly five years old, no one had ever even expressed interest in him.
I brought him home, but vowed to never love him.
Fond of him. Sure. I could do that.
But somewhere along the way, we got to know each other, and he was just the happiest guy. He literally smiled! It looked a bit scary, but he would grin. He was smart, and fat and an absolute pansy about the cold.
About a year ago we found a lump on his face. Cancer.
Being ten years old, the surgery costly, and far from a cure, the vet didn't suggest treating it.
Blessedly, until yesterday, he never really acted sick. He slowed, and struggled sometimes, but over all, Jonah kept smiling
Jonah died today.
We all cried for our friend. I told the kids through our tears, "It's good to be sad. It means we loved him."
It turns out, we loved him quite a lot. Somewhere, along the way, like an arranged marriage, we learned to love him.
Yes, pets are heartbreak in a fuzzy package.
And I wouldn't change a thing.
4 comments:
Im so sorry honey. 💔💔💔
I'm sorry Morgan.
Good old Jonah. I'm so glad you took him in and loved him. This blog was well written, Morgan. It tugs at my heart. Love on those sweet kids for us.
We are so sorry for your loss. We know personally what it is like to love our "family members in dog suits." It is hard when they have to leave us, but Heavenly Father has a way of healing our hearts and helps us make room for new family members to join us. We lost Julie, our sweet 17yr old beagle-lab this past year. We miss her and our lab Josh a lot and Jonathan reminds us that we will see them again and now they are happy, running and jumping in Heaven free of pain and sickness. I write this with tears in my eyes because they are so special. Our beagle-lab Po will be getting a lab buddy from Zona Labradors around Christmas time. We love them all and will make room for more. It will take time, but you will always remember the good times and love you have for Jonah and share that love with others who come along. We love you all!
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