I have been dog shopping literally for MONTHS, and today I found a listing for a collie.
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BACKSTORY
I grew up with a collie, Laddie, and it was the best dog of my life. When he died, it was one of those moments where a kid becomes a grown up. I was 15, and he was suffering horribly. My mother is selfish and can't handle death, so she wouldn't put him to sleep, even though he was blind, deaf, and had awful arthritis. She kept howling and bawling that she wouldn't kill our dog when we suggested it. Finally, he was suffering to the point of apparent, literal cruelty, and we finally convinced her to let us put him down.
The night before, they put him out on the porch because they were afraid he would mess in the house. I stayed out with him all night, squeezing water from a washcloth into his mouth (he couldn't get up to drink) and singing "amazing grace" and crying. We brought him to get put to sleep, me, my sister, brother, and dad. My mom stayed home. We were all around him when he died. When we walked outside to the car, the rain outside has turned into a rainbow. It was a really bittersweet moment. I LOVED that dog. When we got home, my mom was a fucking mess, and our dad attacked us for not being there to comfort our mother. We were 12, 15, and 18, and our mom was a bitch.
To this day, when I see collie, I still miss Laddie and I'm still torn up about how much he suffered. He was such a good dog and I'm still mad at my mother for being the kind of person who would put her own self centered feelings ahead of the life (and quality of life) of an animal. It reminds me of Teri's Schiavo's parents, who probably knew deep down her mind was gone even though her body was there, but couldn't let her REALLY die.
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I saw his listing and I just got the warmest feeling of "That's my dog". I emailed the seller, am going to check out their references and meet the dog, but I will be very disappointed if this doesn't work out.



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I bought her over the internet, and the breeder flew her into tampa international airport the day she turned 8 weeks old. I've had her three years now, and I know that my "love at first sight" for her was right. Shes an awesome dog.
It brought tears to my eyes.


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