Stormy passed away Tuesday morning. Over the last month he was slowly deteriorating, and we finally learned he had a form of cancer that couldn't be treated. He was still "functioning", but he was no longer eating, and he didn't have much strength left. So we decided it was best to do the right thing before he experienced a lot of pain, or could no longer stand or walk.
This is one of the recent pictures I took of him with my mobile phone a few weeks ago. He was sick, but his natural easy-going self still did shine through. This is how I want to remember him.
I could write a book about him and Greyhound behavior, but for now, I just want to recount two days in the time he was with us.
The first day we brought Stormy home, the realization of what it meant to have a Greyhound became apparent. Stormy went from the race track, to the Greyhound shelter kennel, to our home. He had never been in a house before! He didn't even understand what it meant to walk up a small set of stairs. It was like he was a dog from another planet. A lot of Greyhounds are like this and need extra help learning the basics when they first come to live with you.
Anyway, we finally got him to come into the front door onto the shoe mat inside our house, but then the next problem. We wouldn't step off the mat onto our hardwood floors. He had never walked inside a house before and didn't understand the texture of a smooth floor and how to place his feet on it. He would try to walk on his "nails", but would just slip. So that first night he stayed on the little carpet by our front door. We put some other blankets down so he had a larger spot to move around on, but he wouldn't venture out into the rest of the house. That night he finally lay down and relaxed near the door mat. And so he wouldn't be alone on the first night in our house, I slept on the floor next him. Hopefully that was the first time he understood I was his friend.
Monday night, August 17th, 2009, Stormy's last night on Earth.
We usually take a quick walk every night around 10-11pm. Since he has been sick, he had to go out even more often so we were out again closer to midnight. He did a quick (number one) and we turned back toward the house. He has been pretty low on energy, so his walking pace is very slow and labored.
This is one of the recent pictures I took of him with my mobile phone a few weeks ago. He was sick, but his natural easy-going self still did shine through. This is how I want to remember him.
I could write a book about him and Greyhound behavior, but for now, I just want to recount two days in the time he was with us.
The first day we brought Stormy home, the realization of what it meant to have a Greyhound became apparent. Stormy went from the race track, to the Greyhound shelter kennel, to our home. He had never been in a house before! He didn't even understand what it meant to walk up a small set of stairs. It was like he was a dog from another planet. A lot of Greyhounds are like this and need extra help learning the basics when they first come to live with you.
Anyway, we finally got him to come into the front door onto the shoe mat inside our house, but then the next problem. We wouldn't step off the mat onto our hardwood floors. He had never walked inside a house before and didn't understand the texture of a smooth floor and how to place his feet on it. He would try to walk on his "nails", but would just slip. So that first night he stayed on the little carpet by our front door. We put some other blankets down so he had a larger spot to move around on, but he wouldn't venture out into the rest of the house. That night he finally lay down and relaxed near the door mat. And so he wouldn't be alone on the first night in our house, I slept on the floor next him. Hopefully that was the first time he understood I was his friend.
Monday night, August 17th, 2009, Stormy's last night on Earth.
We usually take a quick walk every night around 10-11pm. Since he has been sick, he had to go out even more often so we were out again closer to midnight. He did a quick (number one) and we turned back toward the house. He has been pretty low on energy, so his walking pace is very slow and labored.
When we got back near the front of the house on our lawn, he stopped walking and just stood still. I tried to prompt him to continue but he didn't budge. I gave him a pet on the head to make sure he was OK, and he seemed fine. It was really warm outside, a perfect day/night in Oregon. I got the idea of grabbing an old blanket we keep near the steps of the house and throwing that out on the grass in front of where we was standing to see if he wanted to lay down and rest. As soon as I laid it out he moved forward, did a few "dog spins" and laid down. So I just sat down by him. It was the middle of the night, dark, quiet, warm, we were alone.
At first he just sat there, looking around out into the darkness that surrounds our little neighborhood. There was a slight breeze and I could see he was sniffing the air. I pet him on his head and back. After a few minutes he laid over on his side, took a few deep breaths, and started his process of going to sleep for the night.
I quickly went back into our house, grabbed a few other blankets and my sleeping bag. When I came back out, I put a thicker blanket around him, unrolled my sleeping bag and crawled in. That is where we stayed for the rest of the night, in the grass, under the stars, just me and him. I didn't really sleep, but I just laid there watching him, and looking up at the stars.
Maybe in the way that animals do, he had a sense that his life-energy was draining away and he just wanted to spend some time outside closer to nature, take in the smells, feel the breeze, and be under the stars. I knew it was a special moment, since this is something he never seemed to want to do before. Greyhounds are "inside" dogs, and Stormy definitely liked the big soft sleeping spots he had in our house.
And so the night passed. He slept really well. I could tell because I had my arm laid underneath his blanket and resting on his side. When he dreams, his legs start to "twitch" like he is running in his sleep, and he lets out a low growl in between his breaths. He hadn't been sleeping well the last few nights, so I was glad to see he was relaxed out here in the yard. A couple of times he woke up, looked around and over at me, but then after a few minutes, put his head back down and continued to sleep. When he put his head back down, I lightly scratched behind his ears until I could tell he was asleep again.
The next morning we woke up, my wife and daughter found us outside, and they came out and sat with Stormy while I got everything ready to make the final trip to the Vet's office. When the time came, the girls said a tear filled "good-bye" to him, we loaded up in the car and drove off.
The "process" at the Vet's office went fine. I don't really want to remember those details, but I'll just say it was fast and humane. Within a few minutes he was gone. I wrapped him up in a blanket, had the Vet assistants help me load him up into our car, and I drove back home.
The day before, I dug a nice spot for him in our back yard. It is slightly elevated, and it looks out over the area of our yard where he liked to walk and sniff around.
I can't really explain why he didn't want to go back inside on that last night. Somehow "he knew" his time was short and maybe he just wanted to spend it in a way that allowed him to be closer to his wild ancestry. I'm happy I was able to be with him during this time, I'll never forget that night for the rest of my life. Stormy was my friend.
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