Chasing Birds

My loyal weiner dog Maynard and I went out on the front porch one last time last night.

He has spent 1000s of them out there with me, in earlier years, barking and trying to coax birds from the trees, as if he were Mr. Prince Charming. He loved chasing birds, he loved barking at them. Dummy dog. :)

He hadn't eaten anything for nearly 3 days. His 17 year old system was shutting down. Wouldn't/couldn't even take a drink of water the final day. The vet couldn't do anything for him, save "put him down". Nice term there.

So out we went one last time, more so for me, of course. 23 degrees, the ground covered in ice, the streets glazed with a thin sheet. Freezing cold, me in stocking feet, no coat, him wrapped tightly in a blanket, just his little head sticking out. Like a scripted cue, as soon as we sat down, 4 birds, in the pitch of dark night, flutttered all startled from the eves of our front porch, where they had been roosting to escape the frigid cold. They swooped down, and then out into the yard and away. The sudden and unexpected noise startled me, and apparently Maynard as well, as he raised his head up once, his nose suddenly ALIVE, as if he were geared up and ready for another great bird adventure. I dont put a lot of stock in EVERYTHING in life being an omen or fate or whatever.... but lets just say Im very glad that the bird community got together and voted to put on a spendid show, out of honor for my buddy. It was good for me to see him being aware of where he was, if only for one last time.

He went peacefully a few hours later. Or so I convince myself.

Happy happy fun posts to follow.

From the Escape Archives... Originally Posted on 2-20-06