Dog Death, an oral history

        My dad called her Angel. She was a chocolate Labrador retriever. She was rare, not just because she was chocolate, but because she was the perfect dog.  She never barked or did almost anything wrong! I don't believe I ever heard her growl as we pulled on her fur or rode on her back.I thought of her as my own little angel. She protected my brother and I, everywhere we went. She must have thought of us as her little puppies. She was my dad's dog, and you could tell because she was the most obedient. He bought her just out of high school. She must have been at least ten years old.

               NEW HOME

DAD- I guess I don't even remember where I got Angel. Actually I think we got her at a pet store in downtown. She wasn't a pure bred. She wasn't a mutt though. She was a lab, without papers.

MOM- Dad had her when I met him, and I never asked him. He had had her for maybe three years when I met him.

BROTHER- I wasn't even born yet, I don't have much of a memory of her.

                                   
                 PUPPY LOVE

DAD- She was very destructive. She used to shred her dog bed, putting a hole in it, and pull all the stuffing out. She was hard to train but she got trained. She ended up getting put in a kennel outside, so she wouldn't make a mess.

MOM- She was extremely well behaved, spent most of her time outside, and when she came in she stayed in the kitchen. Very sweet and obedient. 

BROTHER- I'm still not born yet!


               PLAYING WITH THE KIDS

DAD- Well you guys were really young, she was like a big horse. You guys would ride her around the room. She'd play fetch and and roll around a lot. 

MOM- She tolerated a lot. you guys stuck your hands in her mouth and played with her teeth. She'd let you climb all over her and she'd fetch the ball. She also loved to go on walks with us.

BROTHER- We'd throw the ball in the yard, and we'd ride her like she was a pony. 

               GETTING OLD

DAD- You could see it in her face, around her mouth and whiskers, they were getting grey. She was starting to get lumps on her, and fatty tumors.

MOM- It was just kind of a gradual process. She just kind of slowed down. She still attempted to go on walks, but we couldn't go as far. 

BROTHER- I was only three when she died, so I don't remember much.

                ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN

DAD- Well she was just getting really old. One day she was out walking and she tripped in the brush and she tipped over. Then all of a sudden she came back, her tail was wagging, and we got her up. She actually didn't die till the next day, when she was on a walk with mom.
MOM- We went on a walk that day. We just let her follow because she was way behind and we were just going down the road. She tripped and laid own on the side of the road. We were at her side when she died, giving her lots of prayers. It was very peaceful and sweet. It was sad because it was your first experience of death. We called daddy and he brought the truck. He put her on a big board, and slid her onto the truck. We couldn't get her home any other way. So we dug a hole in the backyard, and you guys made a cross, and then we buried her with her collar and special blanket. Then we planted a little pine tree next to her cross.

DAD- We buried her in the back yard, and put a little one foot tall pine tree there, which is now over thirty feet tall. 

MOM- We had a little funeral service for her. I think it was a good thing for us all to go through because it was your first experience with death.
BROTHER- I remember burying her, than we planted a tree right next to her