So long old pal.

I don't know who you all have kids (well, most of you). The tragic suffering and heartbreak in losing a pet is enough for me. This is our 5th pet in 18 years, every 3 years in fact, that we have had to say goodbye with. I'm too fucking sensitive for this shit.

The throwing up we hoped wasn't anything really bad, maybe he ate something that was blocking his esophagus, etc. It ended up being one of the worst cases of gastrointestinal disease the doctor had ever seen in 17 years of practice. Our hope was the medication was going to work and slowly turn the ulcers into smooth soft tummy, the pain medication was working, Luke seemed happy and we all thought he was recovering. While he wasn't hungry, who could blame him really, there was a full recovery expected.
Sometimes no matter what, our fate is sealed and it's our time.

This picture, where Luke is curled up into a tiny ball and looking sweet and helpless, is one of my favorites and it was taken at the specialist center.
It reminds me why we chose to have animals in our lives, we need them and they damn sure need us. Finding him 10 years ago in the middle of the road and learning his current owners were going to return him to the shelter... well that wasn't acceptable. When he went blind it was a big challenge and a test of patience and there was only a little yelling and frustration over the last couple of years.
Even a good dog is bad sometimes but he was still always better than me.

Now I hate New Orleans even more than ever, I was trapped there due to the cold weather and couldn't get home on time and of course in time. Curse that evil black magic hellhole.

I treasure the memories, the pictures, the fun times.

Rock is lonely, the 15 inches of new snow and negative temperatures aren't helping the situation but we are all adjusting. The vet and specialists couldn't save my boy, and when I say we tried everything I mean it. Almost $8000 worth of combined effort, there literally wasn't anything else that could have been done.

Even though I was away, Luke got a final ride to McDonalds and Starbucks, and although he didn't really eat anything the effort was made.

One last puppy-chino for my friend, my brown bear, my Luke.