<\/p>\n
Reposted from 2012 for a friend.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Dogs\u2019 lives are too short.\u00a0 Their only fault, really.<\/em><\/p>\n Agnes Sligh Turnbull<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I saw it coming. Was helpless. Felt the long bladed dull knife drive to the hilt between my shoulders. The driver stopped. It wasn\u2019t his fault. I motioned for them to leave, picked her up and carried her to the soft, new, spring grass. Instantly, I knew I would once again have to do what I had done years ago. The memory hit me like a train:<\/p>\n Nate was my first dog. He had to be put down. Grandpa said I should do it. I knew he was right, but I wished he wasn\u2019t. I was his keeper. I was responsible. It was my job. The tears were mine too. Grandpa knew he was teaching me. Teaching me a lesson I\u2019d desperately need someday. He was, preparing me for hard times.<\/em><\/p>\n Holding her graying muzzle in my hands I noticed they were shaking. She was not. Her eyes, deep and black, were as soft as always. She looked at me like a hurting soldier looks at a nurse. Like I had a cure. Like she knew I was hurting too and that she needed to provide comfort. The same comfort she\u2019d always provided.<\/p>\n This was the day Grandpa\u2019s lesson had been for.<\/p>\n I placed her in the back of the Ranger. We took one last ride. She never whimpered, not a noise. I stopped short of the hilltop, cradled her in my arms, walked slowly, and placed her on the ground at the top. She set calmly, never offering to look at me. I knew if she did, I could not continue. She knew it too.<\/p>\n I rubbed her head, her shoulders, she looked into the valley. The blackness of the storm approached and the thunder that had always terrified her rolled in behind us like a slow-moving train. She remained calm. I dug my fingers deep into her fur.<\/p>\n It had to be done. Done now. Done here. In the woods in the clean air, by hands that cared. I was prepared for this part but not for the next; telling my son. That would be harder; as hard as railroad steel in the dead of winter.\u00a0They were the same age. Met at two months old. They played in the woods, in the creek. She protected him, protected his sisters, protected us all. She retrieved birds, found deer, could find anything no matter how hard or far it was thrown.<\/p>\n No more.<\/p>\n I felt her heartbeat. Felt true trust. Felt truly lucky. Every boy\u2014every man\u2014deserves one true<\/strong> dog. Few get it. Fewer appreciate it. I have and will.<\/p>\n Lessons are hard things, no matter how many times you have to learn them. I hurt, she hurt worse. I felt calm, she made sure of that. I did not feel lost or alone; Grandpa prepared me for this. He was with me.<\/p>\n Her feet were on the ground. Her eyes were open, and her nose was in the wind.<\/p>\n I ended it.<\/p>\n There is a Reaper, whose name is Death,<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And, with his sickle keen,<\/em><\/p>\n He reaps the bearded grain at a breath,<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And the flowers that grow between.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>The Reaper and the Flowers<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lessons are hard things, no matter how many times you have to learn them. I hurt, she hurt worse. I felt calm, she made sure of that. I did not feel lost or alone; Grandpa prepared me for this. He was with me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2579,2821,2820],"tags":[2902],"class_list":["post-15698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial","category-empty-cases-exclusive","category-latest","tag-dogs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/ut-11.jpg?fit=1210%2C806&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s5hujZ-goodby","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15888,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/guns-of-our-grandfathers\/","url_meta":{"origin":15698,"position":0},"title":"Guns of our Grandfathers","author":"gunwriter","date":"February 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"They are in every family. Guns, maybe not all that special to their original owners, but guns families cherish and hold on to. If for no other reason than to keep a loved one that has passed on, close to their hearts. Talk to any gun owner and you can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DEFENSE"","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GG-4.jpg?fit=1000%2C593&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GG-4.jpg?fit=1000%2C593&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GG-4.jpg?fit=1000%2C593&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/GG-4.jpg?fit=1000%2C593&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13729,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/learning\/","url_meta":{"origin":15698,"position":1},"title":"Learning","author":"gunwriter","date":"July 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was 16 years old I thought I knew it all. By the time I was 21, I was certain of it. I then spent the next 30 years learning. Not about how to diagram a sentence or to calculate the area of a triangle; I learned about life.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EDITORIAL"","block_context":{"text":"EDITORIAL","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"XX-22","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/XX-22.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/XX-22.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/XX-22.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/XX-22.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16712,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/pulling-pistols-killing-snakes\/","url_meta":{"origin":15698,"position":2},"title":"Pulling Pistols & Killing Snakes","author":"gunwriter","date":"February 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Grandpa also used to tell us boys, \u201cYou should never pull a pistol unless you\u2019re going to use it.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "DEFENSE"","block_context":{"text":"DEFENSE","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/defense\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Killing-Snake-5.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Killing-Snake-5.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Killing-Snake-5.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Killing-Snake-5.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12065,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/kids-guns-and-kissing\/","url_meta":{"origin":15698,"position":3},"title":"Kids, Guns and Kissing","author":"gunwriter","date":"September 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent my childhood with a gun. 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