It has been very hard for me as I now deal with the great sadness of the passing of one of my very special friends. I think writing about it will help make me feel a little better. Our family lost our very special boy Weimaraner, Alton. Alton was a great family dog like so many people have, he was incredibly brave, strong, energetic, full of life and affectionate and gentle, For me Alton is more than that family pet he was and always will be a reminder of how we can never stop, or give up, or be afraid to push ourselves and challenge ones self to become even stronger than we were the day before. It is this spirt of Alton that is tearing me up as I write this. On October 28th 2012, our Alton had a major stroke. It totally changed our Alton into a very motionless and inactive body of a dog. He could not stand nor walk and his body was stiff and paralyzed in an almost frozen state. The emergency veterinarians wanted us to spend thousands of dollars on tests and imaging to see what was wrong with him. It may or may not tell what his diagnosis is but if we didnt choose these options then we might as well put our Alton to sleep then and there. Jen and I could not afford these tests and regardless of what they told us, it would not change what we were going to do next. We were going to continue to treat him the best we could to help him in his major recovery. We could see in our Alton’s eyes that desire to get up and run out of the hospital. He did not need tests he needed his family to take him home and be patient with him and help him recover. He needed us to hold on and believe in him and he would be fine and out Alton would be back with us. It took me 4 months of walking in the winters, snow and cold with Alton at any moment, 6:00AM or 1:00AM in a harness but the two of us got him back into walking shape. He had learned to walk again and could now get up on his own and now in his altered mechanical ways, he could make his way outside the sliding glass door to the back yard he use to run around in. He was not the same after the stroke and did not recover 100% but he had become even more special and my very special hero. He fought hard, and he never gave up. And so today July 15, 2014, 626 days from his initial stroke, my family and I have been truly blessed in learning so much from an amazing and gentle dog and teacher. Through his life he always offered unconditional support, love, and never a single judgment, he just wanted to share his affection. I got mad at him when he tore up the garbage looking for food but he was mad when I did not feed him at 7AM or 7PM on the dot, and he made me know it. But in the last 2 years of borrowed time we had, my children got to know a really cool dog a little bit better as they grew up with him. My wife and I gained a better appreciating on what the little things in life are and how beautiful and precious those things are too. I learned about the courage I needed to start all over again from scratch at something and that it’s ok to fail but never give up. So to say I lost a really great dog today is a bit of a understatement, today I lost a little of what that Alton spirit was trying to teach me as my new life’s Mantra these past 626 days. I will miss you forever but I promise to honor you by continuing to do what you taught me so beautifully. Alton really wanted to be a human and at time I swore he thought he was, if I could be half the human he would have been than I will be a happy man the rest of my life. So as my eyes have dried up for the moment I want to tell my special friend to rest in peace Buddy, You were always 100% perfect to me and the past 12 years have been something special for sure. I love you!
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 16:46:39 +0000
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