Shaky-Bond-Speare 2000--2012

Yesterday Gus and I said goodbye to a dear friend.  We finally made the trip to the vet to euthanize Shaky.  It was extremely difficult.  I'm finding it really hard to feel okay about the choice.

Shaky started out as my sister Heidi's dog.  His full name was Shaky-Bond-Speare, a compromise meant to satisfy my sister's desire to name him Shakespeare with her son's insistence that he be called James Bond.  I'm not sure the resulting blend was the most elegant of names, but it always seemed to suit him.

Shaky came to live with me when he was nearly 7 years old and we have spent the last 6 years together.  He was a faithful companion.  To him I was second to none but the ball...and the stick... and well really anything projectile.  But if nothing was moving, then he liked me quite well.  Shaky was quite a calm and reserved dog.  He bestowed kisses sparingly and would only offer his bum up for pets.  He had unfailing energy and could outlast even the most determined ball throwers.  I'm pretty sure if we had bought him a pitching machine, the machine would have died before Shaky took a rest.

I remember shortly after I got together with Gus, we brought Shaky up to Gus's parents' river.  I proudly declared to Gus's dad, Tom, that Shaky could not be bested in a game of fetch.  Determined to prove me wrong, Tom sat down with a book, a beer and the launcher and threw the ball all afternoon.  At the end of it he said, "well my beer is done, my book is done, my arm is ready to fall off and he is still going.  I can't believe it."  To add insult to injury Shaky wandered over, dropped the ball at our feet and looked up expectantly, as though he had just spent the last 5 hours having a nice rest.  This was Shaky.

In recent years, Shaky started to slow down.  He couldn't see well anymore and he had developed arthritis in his hips.  It was very sad for all of us to see him having trouble keeping up.  He still enjoyed sitting quietly in the yard on sunny days, surveying his territory and keeping all invading squirells at bay.  He was still up for a good game of fetch, but couldn't see the ball well anymore.  On most throws he simply lost the ball and when he did see it he would lope slowly after it to retrieve it.  He still came for pets, but he'd growl and snap at anyone who came too near his arthritic hips.  Like it or not, we were starting to lose our boy.

After much delaying we made the terrible decision that eventually all dog owners face; we put Shaky down.  One day, I hope I will look at it as the last nice thing we did for a good friend.  Right now it just hurts.  We might have put it off for a few more months, maybe a year, but this way he never had to stop playing fetch.  He never got tired out.  He played till the very last day.

Goodbye Shaky.  We will miss you.

Shaky lost his ball int he river.  Again.

Tug with another dog is rare.  Catching it on camera is special.