GotMyAlly
Well-Known Member
I was in Louisiana on a fishing trip last week. Best trip ive had. First day - 34 trout, 14 reds. Second day - 50 trout, 9 reds. And it kept going like that. We were cleaning some fish for the freezer one afternoon and a boat pulled into the slip next to mine. Kid, dad, granddad. They didn't have any fish. Kid was about 8. Sitting on a bucket eyeing our pile of fish with his bottom lip poking out while his dad and granddad refueled the boat for the next day and stored the rods, e.t.c. At some point, I remembered a sign I had seen several years ago that said "be the person your dog thinks you are". I stopped what I was doing, put down the fillet knife, washed my hands. I walked over to the kid and asked him if he had caught anything. He responded with a sad "no". I walked over to my boat and got him some of the baits we had been using. His eyes lit up. Next afternoon, his dad brought him over to our cabin and said he had caught some trout and the first red he'd ever caught by himself. Made me feel good.
After I got showered and cleaned up, I checked my phone. Had a bunch of missed calls from my wife. Called her back and she told me that my dog had quit eating. Ive had him for 16 years. Way longer than ive known my wife. He used to go everywhere with me, but in his old age I didn't take him to Louisiana with me this time. We knew his time was getting short, but he still had more good days than bad. Instead of fishing half a day Sunday then driving home like I normally would, I loaded up that night and rolled out at 5AM the next morning. 7 hr drive put me home right at lunch time. Came in and sat with my old dog. He got up after a while and went to get a drink. Still didn't want his dog food. He loves bananas, so I went and got one and tried to share it with him but he just turned his head. We sat there for a couple hours in front of the TV and he was calm and relaxed as ever but too weak to jump on the couch or even put his front paws up. After a little while, I put him in his dog bed and went to take a shower. When I came back into the room 15 minutes later, he was laying about half way across the room in an awkward position and his breathing was labored. I put him next to me, rubbed his head, and he took his last breath. I can't help but think he was waiting on me to get home.
After I got showered and cleaned up, I checked my phone. Had a bunch of missed calls from my wife. Called her back and she told me that my dog had quit eating. Ive had him for 16 years. Way longer than ive known my wife. He used to go everywhere with me, but in his old age I didn't take him to Louisiana with me this time. We knew his time was getting short, but he still had more good days than bad. Instead of fishing half a day Sunday then driving home like I normally would, I loaded up that night and rolled out at 5AM the next morning. 7 hr drive put me home right at lunch time. Came in and sat with my old dog. He got up after a while and went to get a drink. Still didn't want his dog food. He loves bananas, so I went and got one and tried to share it with him but he just turned his head. We sat there for a couple hours in front of the TV and he was calm and relaxed as ever but too weak to jump on the couch or even put his front paws up. After a little while, I put him in his dog bed and went to take a shower. When I came back into the room 15 minutes later, he was laying about half way across the room in an awkward position and his breathing was labored. I put him next to me, rubbed his head, and he took his last breath. I can't help but think he was waiting on me to get home.
