Nothing, not losing friends or family, hurt as bad as putting down Phoebe the Jeep dog.
Afterwards I didn’t want another dog, thought it would be kind of nice living without one for a while but Mrs. Radar had other plans.
About 8 months later she took me to a local charity dog rescue to introduce me to a Catahoula they had there. I wasn’t interested but decided I’d better humor her and went.
When I reached down and scratched the Catahoula behind the ears she leaned on my leg and looked up at me with big ole puppy dog eyes and I thought, “Shit! I’ve got dog.”
At first I was a bit pissed at Mrs. Radar for shoving Rhetta, that’s what we named her, off on me because whenever I looked at her all I saw was having to put her down in 10 years or so, but she very quickly worked her way into my heart. Since I’ve learned that as dog owners we can’t dwell on how they will end, just enjoy their time with us. It may sound a bit simplistic but that is what dogs are here for, to teach our young’uns about the cycle of life and to enjoy their childlike exuberance while they’re with us.