The
entire family, my wife Stacey, my daughter Rachel, and my son Alex, were all in
attendance on the field trip to find a new dog to replace our dog Stella that
had just passed away.
From
the second we saw Ruby at the San Gabriel Humane Society we knew that she was
the one. There was an instant connection we all felt, like we had known one
another in a previous life. Once we were all together in the "get to know
one another room" our first impressions were confirmed and she was ours.
Or should I say we were hers?
Ruby
established the rules when we got her home. As she was getting her first
sniffs around the perimeter of the house
a small nosey bird swooped down to around 4 feet over Ruby's head when she leapt
straight up in the air and grabbed it. Despite our best efforts she devoured
the entire bird, bone and all, in 2 minutes. An edict had been sent across the
property that the presence of birds and lizards would not be tolerated on Ruby's
watch. And so it remained for the next decade.
Despite
being the terror of small interlopers in the yard, she was the sweetest,
smartest, and most intuitive dog I have ever owned. This dog understood English
and when one of us spoke to her in a normal tone she would immediately respond. This little
pet trick amazed us all. It was not something we taught her, it was just a
talent she had.
Over
the years she was also the best traveling dog. She instinctively knew where her
spot was in the car on the long drive up to the Eastern Sierras, which is a 5
to 6 hour haul. Not a whimper or a whine, she was just happy to be there. As
she got older, as with most dogs, she developed a few gas issues, but nothing a
couple of ginger snap cookies couldn't cure.
About
the only negative quirk that she had was her toe nails. She would not let
anyone cut them. Not us or even a professional with a muzzle. Nobody. I guess
everyone is allowed a tick and her nails were it. The only thing we can assume
is that somewhere in the early portion of her life, we rescued her when she was
a little over a year old, someone must have hurt her when attempting to trim
her nails. That time was one time too
many.
Other
than her nails, she gave us a stress free and unconditionally loving existence,
but time catches up to us all and during the last few months they caught up to
Ruby. Her decline came on quickly and we could see the writing on the wall.
Her
legs that once climbed the mountains of the June Lake Loop could no longer
carry her to her food and water bowls. Her sharp instincts that struck fear in
the hearts of lizards and birds in our yard were dulled to the point where she
could barely make it to the lawn's edge with no energy left to complete the
hunt. Her quality of life had ceased to be. It was time for all of us to let
her go.
So at
1:00 on Saturday afternoon, September 20, 2014, the entire family gathered
together to say their goodbyes and to escort
Ruby to the Rainbow Bridge. As a group we delivered her to the
compassionate hands of the Temple City Animal Hospital. None of us wanted her
to cross alone so we all stayed with her to give her final pettings until we
knew that she had safely arrived.
Every
family feels that their pet is the best and that is the way it should be for someone
who has given you a lifetime of unconditional loyalty and love. While most of
us will have other pets come along to hopefully fill part of the void there is
always that one that can never be replaced.
For us
that was our Ruby.
Bill Dunn has been a published opinion columnist for 15
years. Any comments can be sent to
either our exalted editor at tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
or to Bill directly at
dunnsinferno@casegod.com You can also
find Bill on Facebook at : www.facebook.com/WhenAllisSaidandDunn
