Thursday, November 12, 2009

Good-bye, Fudge

My dog of 13 years passed away today.



He was the friendliest dog you'd ever want to meet. The entire neighborhood knew his smiling face. He never met a person or dog he didn't like and walks were always an opportunity to meet new friends. In fact, one day he was so excited to see some doggy friends walking with their owner outside our home, that he blew right through our screen door to get to them. The poor lady nearly had a heart attack to see this huge, 125 pound dog knocking down a door and charging at her, but when he got to her, tail wagging, tongue hanging out, and started sniffing her Pomeranians, she realized he wasn't going to eat them, but wanted to play.

We put in a security screen door after that, of course.

He was a big 'ol Chocolate Lab, named after the character "Fudge" in the Judy Blume book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Thirteen years ago I was pregnant, and my oldest son wanted to name his impending baby brother Fudge, like the naughty little brother Fudge in the book. Unsurprisingly, I vetoed that name for my child, but when Christmas morning came around and my son was presented with a wiggling brown puppy in a box, Fudge was the natural choice for his name.

Fudge was a remarkable puppy in that not once - not as a puppy and not as an elderly dog - did he ever mess in the house. We got him as a six week old pup and he came house-trained. I am guessing that will never happen again in my lifetime. He wasn't perfect - he was a Labrador after all. We still have some holes in the drywall where he'd decided to have a little snack.

His most notable trait was friendliness. Fudge never met a human he didn't love. Taking him to the vet today for the final time was no problem; the vet is full of fun people and even though he'd lost his ability to walk he was happy to be there with his friends. He licked them all good-bye.

Even in pain, at the end, his tail would thump when we'd come near.

Good-bye to our loving, comical, friendly, big ol' boy. We will always remember you.

You'll always be rolling in the grass, scratching your back, in my dreams.

11 comments:

  1. I am so sorry about Fudge! You are such a talented writer!

    ReplyDelete
  2. so sorry about Fudge. Sounds like a great dog

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so sorry for your loss! Can't imagine losing your dog on top of everything else!!! Our pets are family, so I know this is hard!!
    Just wanted you to know I enjoy your posts!!
    I'll be having surgery in December - appreciate the candid info - I want to be prepared - Thanks too for the 'shopping recommendations'!!
    Di DI

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ann, I am sorry to hear about Fudge. It really seems like yesterday he was a puppy, and we were all pregnant. It is hard to lose a once in a lifetime pet.

    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah, when it rains it pours huh? Have a sick cat too.

    I know it was Fudge's time and I take comfort from the fact there was no choice or ambiguity. He only suffered for one day. That dog was impervious to pain so when he started whimpering, panting, couldn't get comfortable - and when he wouldn't eat - I knew what had to be done. But, it was not easy.

    Thank you for your comments!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Was Fudge the puppy that ate my shoes? Anyway, sweet dreams Fudge - you were cute and big!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, so sad. I've lost many beloved animals over the years and it is so, so hard.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I still miss my Misty. Maybe Misty and Fudge are romping in the grass somewhere. Some people don't think dogs go to heaven, but I fully expect to see Misty again.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm so sorry :(. I have been there and it's just heart breaking. The timing sucks too, huh?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am also getting through breast cancer, have my last chemo coming up next week. We had to say goodbye to our cat of 14 years while I was on AC. He was adored, a true part of our family, and I'll miss him forever. I just found your blog today, and you are in my thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Daryl, yes, Fudge ate your shoes many years ago. :) I know, I know, I still owe you! One of these days a fabulous pair of Jimmy Choos will be in the mail to you. The day I hit the lottery. :) In the meantime, I can send you some Havianas...... :)

    Thank you all for the well-wishes. The house seems so empty now.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting. If the post is over 14 days old, the comment will be moderated and will approved later. This is a spam prevention technique - but I love to hear from you!