TJ, Moving On

I will always remember his smile.

This is the first picture I ever saw of TJ. It was taken shortly after being rescued by The HOWS Project. He was taken off a chain where he had lived for many years when his owner agreed to surrender him. He was riding in a car with the women who had saved him, no idea where he was going, and he didn't care. He was happy to be free, happy to be going. They didn't know where he was going either, but they were determined to save him. One of them reached me by phone and after a picture was sent and a short conversation it was decided that he was coming here.

He was a senior dog and still intact, so he wasn't the easiest dog to introduce to everyone, but he quickly made up his mind that this was his pack and he wanted a place in it. He did settle in, and he eventually stopped marking everything, but he always remained a bit difficult with new dogs. Well, he was always fine with females, but males were always challenged at the door, especially if they were still intact. Because he settled in here, and because he was a senior dog already, and because he was still a butt head, we decided to keep him. He seemed ok with that.

That was in February-March 2017. And he was ok for the next two years.
But over the past several months he's slowed down a lot. I stopped taking him on walks, even shorter ones. I did start letting him out to wander freely in the yard on his own. He wasn't interested in going anywhere and he enjoyed the new freedom to explore.

He's had some bad days when he doesn't eat, and he's been losing control of the rear end functions too, but TJ has kept going. After feeling bad for a day or two, he'd perk up again. Yesterday things took a big turn for the worse. He didn't eat and I wasn't sure he was going to make it upstairs last night, but he did. He didn't have a good night, however, and after going outside he stayed in the kitchen for a while. Saturday morning he was looking really weak, really uncomfortable. He usually lays right behind my chair. Today he couldn't find a place to be comfortable and he finally just came up to me with a look in his eyes that told me it was time.

I called the vet and we drove to town. He wouldn't let me lift him into the van, too much pride or too much pain, probably both. He did use a ramp that had been given to me and I was very glad to have it. He did manage to lay down on the blankets in the back for the ride to town. He was nearly 14 years old and he had managed to stay well right up to the end. The end was easy and peaceful and it relieved his suffering, so there's a lot to celebrate and be happy about. Maybe it's just the pollen and the music that have teamed up to cause my tears to fall, but mostly I miss TJ. He wasn't the cuddly type, he wasn't always lovable, but he was more than worth the effort.

I took these pictures one day last week when TJ was feeling pretty good. He was outside
on a beautiful day where the sun worked its magic on his fur.

I saw this collage of HOWS photos
on the equipment shed/concession
stand at the baseball fields at
Pleasant Grove. It surprised me, but
I was glad to see it.

This little framed photo was on display
at the vet's office, given to them by
HOWS as a thank you for helping
with the dogs they rescue.

I'll wear TJ's collar until his cremains are returned,
then I'll put the collar with the urn in our columbarium.

TJ always had a smile.