Remember that movie that you’re embarrassed that you got teary over? I remember mine. It was a Pokémon movie. It’s not always the most tragic story that tugs at your heartstrings - it’s the stories that you find yourself so connected to that when they laugh, you laugh, and when they clap (this is pretty embarrassing as well), you quickly forget where you are and clap right along.

It is almost time to say goodbye to my dog. He had an appointment yesterday to be put down. Seeing as he’s about 14 years old, it’s no surprise that his body is weak, and he’s plagued by an assortment of ailments that come with old age - but it was all so sudden. Around lunch time I received a call telling me that the dog was to be put down at 3. I floated through the rest of the day until 3 and when the time came to go to the veterinarian, I froze up feeling completely devastated - not ready to say goodbye. I cannot say I remember when we put our first dog to sleep but it feels so wrong. I understand the quality of life drops dramatically and the suffering that follows is no small matter, but I hate it all. The dog I grew up with suffered from kidney failure preluding massive organ failure, and we understood it was time to let her go. But what of our current dog. Yes, he’s old, but there’s no diagnosis for any of the symptoms. My family, and I are not ready to let him go on such shaky grounds.

Early this morning my entire family went to the veterinarian to talk over the situation. The dog’s now outside on the grass with a fever that will hopefully go down and still refuses to eat. At least he’s starting to drink water again. When medicine no longer has any effect, all we can do is pray we don’t have to say goodbye yet.