greeklish.org :: general

Visit our big project:
Erythrós Press and Media

This Month

Greeklish.org Features

Notice

The blog and contents of the entire greeklish.org site represent the personal views of the site's authors. The views expressed on these pages are the views of the authors alone and are not the views of our employers or of any organizations with which we are affiliated.

Most original works from this site may be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 (US).

Copyrighted quotes and images obtained from third party web sites are used under the terms of Fair Use. Some materials used by greeklish.org are in the public domain.

Family photos are intended for viewing on this web site and should not be reproduced or used elsewhere without the permission of the owners and operators of greeklish.org.

Main Page » general

« December 22 | January 20 »

Monday, January 18

Notes on the passing of a friend

by Mike on Mon 18 Jan 2010 10:23 PM EST

Given the enormous human suffering brought on by the recent disaster in Haiti, it doesn’t seem right to publicly dwell for too long on the death of a family pet. But because greeklish.org has been something of an "online diary" for us for such a long time now, I wanted to mark the occasion with a few reflections on the recent passing of our good friend Domino.

Thomai and I bought Domino as newlyweds in 1997. She was our second family pet after our green iguana Oppie (named after J. Robert Oppenheimer) who passed away in 2002. We bought Domino from a farm in rural Eaton and we named her after the Kiss song "Domino." I have always been proud to say that Domino’s name was Thomai’s idea.

Domino was a huge part of our lives for 13 years. She welcomed our two daughters into the family and she was always patient and always gentle with the kids. I think that there aren’t many dog owners who can honestly and accurately say that their dogs never bared teeth, growled or showed aggression in any form but this was absolutely the case with our dog Domino. Whether it was all those times when the girls inadvertently smacked her with toy golf clubs and the like or it was those first few years when Thomai and I used Domino to test out our developing “parental skills,” Domino was always understanding and always forgiving.

When we brought Stupsi home a couple of years ago, Domino was kind enough to welcome one more member to the family. As a rambunctious puppy, Stupsi was awfully trying in her own right but it was great to see Domino acting as a “mentor” of sorts to our newest four-legged addition. We lovingly called Domino our “Grand Dame” as we watched her teach Stupsi the ropes.

She wasn't a show dog. She had a "point" on the top of her head. Her bottom front teeth looked like the salt from a big soft pretzel. Her nose was often dry and crusty. She drooled spit and sludge from her jowls and often left a trail of the stuff through the house. But Domino was made out of incredibly tough stuff. Her health problems were always minor and we were often told by fellow boxer owners how fortunate we were to enjoy such a long time with our beloved friend. We didn’t have to deal with a lengthy battle with cancer (boxers are notoriously cancer prone), heart problems or hip issues. In the end, it was her 13 year-old liver that gave out. He decline started last Thursday and I already had a pretty good idea what we were facing by the time I helped her into the van to go to the vet on Saturday. In addition to her lethargy and obvious discomfort, the jaundice in her eyes signaled that she was in a bad way.

The doctor was very nice as he explained things, ending our difficult discussion by saying that he thought that letting Domino go would be “fair.” Thomai and the girls arrived in time to say a difficult goodbye and when they stepped out, I got a few minutes alone with Domino. I sat on the floor with her, wrapping my legs around her body and my arms around her neck. She rested her chin on my arm and closed her eyes as I whispered in her ear. She had been virtually deaf for years but something about the situation was comforting to her and for a few moments she dozed comfortably as I spoke softly to her. The doctor joined us and the end was fast and merciful. She fell asleep once more in my arms and I gently laid her down for one final goodbye.

The whole situation was wonderfully materialistic in a manner of speaking. There was no talk of God or Heaven, no musings about religion and spirituality or the grand cosmic meanings of life and death. We were straight with our girls about what happened and why and they are stronger surely because of the experience and its lasting lessons. Even the doctor was very concrete in his description of how Domino reacted in her final seconds, describing some involuntary movements as “random electricity.” It was all consistent with how I view life and existence and thus reaffirming and ultimately very comforting.

I sat down at the computer late Saturday afternoon and opened up the web browser, landing on my default home page here at greeklish.org. Right there in front of me were the words I typed just a few weeks ago:

Nothing ever truly goes away. Our favorite things, places and people will last forever but in different shapes and forms.

It is a comfort to me that Domino will exist in our memories and beyond for many, many years to come. Thomai and the girls struggle now and again and I have apologized many times over the course of the last few days for all of the times my girls have had to see me sob and cry. Stupsi is having a hard time as well, spending hours laying near Domino’s favorite spots in the house and periodically searching for her around the house as she softly whimpers.

This is real life though, and there are many problems much worse than this all around the world, every single day. We are surely fortunate that this is our greatest of challenge at the moment just as we are fortunate to have enjoyed so many years with such a dedicated friend.