When Davidson was given to me, only 5 weeks old, I could never have imagined how big part of my life he would be. For the past 12 years he has been my one firm point in life. People have come and gone, given me promises and expectations, disappointed me, hurt me and continue their lives but he has always been there. My little shadow. Wherever we are, even home, he still want to be able to see me and all is fine. He will limp after me to the bath room and sit on the bathroom carpet and wait for me. He comes along to the gym, and lies on his blanket, watching over me. If I disappear behind a pillar and he loses sight of me, the crying starts. My every day starts with his morning walk and ends with his night walk.
He has had quite a few health issues over the years but we have pulled through them all. He is so strong. He never complains. He is so kind. Everybody loves him. He has this charisma that I never saw in a dog before. People come up to us everywhere and just want to know him. The kids call him Scooby Doo 🙂
Now that he is weak and old, he still only cares about me. He tries his very best to keep me happy and his heart is still so strong. I look at him and his tail is wagging. It is painful. Who am I to decide between life and death. How will I be able to know what to do and when. Two more vet visits today, and what will be the outcome. I can see he trusts whatever decision I make. He is entirely in my hands. I want what is best for him. This is a shit position to be in but I must be strong, for Davidson, my best friend and the closest I have to a child. I owe him that. I just wonder, how do you prepare yourself. How will anything be normal again.
For those of you who don’t know, Triple A is an animal rescue organization taking care and rehoming homeless animals, mainly dogs. Not all of us are able to adopt another pet but I recently found out that we can still help. How? Through years of hard work they have now a strong colaboration with Germany, Finland and also Sweden. Many of the dogs and cats find new foster homes there. These animals need to fly to their new family and can of course not travel alone. Meet Dock, a pit bull that has spent several years at Triple A shelters and now just been adopted by a Swedish family. When I anyway was flying to Sweden I offered to bring Dock along to his new home. It was a very easy experience. Triple A added a dog to my booking and they brought him to Malaga airport and helped with the check in there. All I had to do was pick him up at bagage claim in Stockholm, take him through customs, showing his passport and out to the arrival hall, where a very excited family was waiting for their new family member. It was a great feeling to see this happy ending for Dock as he walked off into his new future of love.
Marianne Steneholm 