The thing NOT to tell a first time dog lover
I certainly didn’t want to be the one to tell him.
When a friend came home with his adorable gray fur ball of fun seven years ago, I did all the things a fellow dog lover does to welcome a new pet lover into our tribe.
Well, almost all the things.
Deliver a basket full of puppy toys: check.
Coo, snuggle, and make a big deal over that pink puppy belly: check.
Offer up my two cents on housebreaking, training, dog parks: check, check, check.
Purposely, I left off the biggest item. The thing we really sign up for when we take our furry loves into our family.
So far so good
Why ruin a good thing?
And what a good thing this duo has been.
For seven years, they have been each other’s best friend. Taking countless daily walks, snuggling, playing, blurring the line on who is taking care of whom more.
Friend is single. Dog became his family. His consideration for everything. How long is he gone from the house? Where does he go on vacation? Does pup like any potential boyfriends?
A love that appeared built to last forever.
Ug!
Until last week, when his beloved pup suddenly had a seizure. Tests have revealed a brain tumor.
Now, Friend has a seemingly impossible choice to make. Does he have the veterinarian do brain surgery? Two weeks of radiation? Or nothing at all?
I can’t choose for him, but I knew it was finally time to tell him.
The part how our furry loves sign shorter contracts than we do. How we will be here for their entire life, but they will be here for what seems like just a fraction of ours.
“There are questions to ask,” I counseled him. “What are the risks? How much time does this buy your best friend?”
Dog lover math
And the harshest reality, “No matter how much time it does buy you, it’s not going to be enough. It’s not going to be your forever.”
Of course, I never told him this part of the journey before. If a first timer knew what was waiting at the end of this love affair, they would never go down this road of heartbreak.
No matter what treatment option he picks, Friend swears this will be his only dog.
“I can’t do this again,” he sobs. “I can’t open my heart and shatter it one more time.”
I don’t want to be the one to tell him.
At least not now.
One day it will be time to explain.
That once you love a dog, you can’t not love a dog.
Friend will do every right thing for this beloved pup.
One day it will be time to say this
And one day, when the time is right, I will be the first to tell him.
It’s time to love again.
