Jo the Dog
After two weeks of not eating consistently and losing weight, we decided to have our dog, Jo, put down.
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We got Jo in the summer of 2014 when our oldest daughter was about six months old. We had a new baby and a new house and figured how hard could one more mouth be?
Jo, whose original name was "Penny" (which didn't stick), was described by the seller as a "mix of Weimaraner and fence jumper." She was one of the smaller puppies in the litter and was the quietist of the bunch. We figured these were good signs and that we'd have a nice quiet dog to go with all the other changes in our lives.
Jo turned into a big dog who really wanted to be a lap dog. She loved being scratched behind the ears and would rest her chin on any lap willing to have her. This usually meant her entire frame was leaning on someone's legs while she fought to stay awake.
Since we got her with a baby in the house, she learned quickly how to be patient. Her submissiveness only came out more while the kids (all four of them) grabbed, pulled, and otherwise used her as a beanbag chair during their infant and toddler years. She grew up right next to our kids and wanted to be where we were.
When we moved up to the farm in 2020, Jo suddenly had way more space in which to do dog things. She had all of the sunny spots picked out and would migrate around the yard throughout the day to get the best vitamin D she could. She particularly loved freshly dug dirt, generally where we would be trying to work.
Her true superpower, according to my wife, was her ability to find snakes. Jo didn't get riled up often if she wasn't playing, but when she came across a snake in the yard, she would almost point and give one, loud, deep WOOF. We'd either look up or run out to see her prancing around some poor garter snake just trying to go about it's business. I would pick it up and Jo would want to make friends so bad. She'd be in there, sniffing, trying to give a little lick and was bitten on the nose on more than one occasion.
When we would walk out the door to do something, Jo would trot along just to be with the group. She would shiver outside while the kids went sledding down the back hill in the winter. She would stay outside, even in the rain, if we were finishing up chores. Jo was always there. She was a people dog.
When Jo didn't eat for a couple days, we didn't think anything of it. She'd done this in the past and was usually some kind of upset stomach. But two days turned into three and then more. She wasn't eating dry food and would only lick at eggs we tried giving her. We bought a couple cans of wet food and even that wasn't taken very well.
We'd both read that labs are so loyal that they'll often string their lives out so their owners aren't disappointed. I know it's anthropomorphization, but with Jo, it wasn't out of the question. She would lay in her favorite spot all day and wag when we came over, but wouldn't stand or walk much. As much as I hated to even consider it, I knew the end was probably near.
We told the kids the night before and then spent the day preparing a nice spot for her in the yard. I was doing okay right up until the kids said goodbye. I had to take a minute to make sure I could drive.
The veterinarian was quiet and gentle, more for me than for her. I wept over the unfairness of having to make this decision and over feeling like I had let the dog down.
I know she didn't know what was happening and I stayed with her right up until the last heartbeat.
I drove home, Jo wrapped in her blanket. We cried some more as a family before putting her under a tree at the back of the yard. The kids chose an enormous stone to put near the spot and it turns out you can see it from the house.
There's an old comic, "Death and the dog" where a dog asks if he was a good boy to the Grim Reaper. Death replies, "No...you were the best."
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