My name was Memphis
Last week something happened. I was suddenly in a lot of pain. My mom noticed that I was having some trouble getting off of the floor and that I wasn't trying to steal food from my human sister. They decided that they would take me to the vet the next morning. I don't like going to the vet much, so I tried to hide that I was sick as much as I could. On Sunday and Monday you would have never known I was sick! I was getting on the couch and stealing food left and right.
On Tuesday though, I was very sore. I could not get off of the floor by myself. I yelped in pain until my Mom came to help me. She even carried me down the stairs when I got stuck halfway up. There was no fooling them now, I had to go to the vet. Mom made an appointment for me that afternoon. I had to be picked up and put in the car, it was pretty humiliating for a grown dog like myself. The vet told Mom that I had a ruptured vertebrae in my neck and after they did ex-rays of my leg they saw that my cancer had come back again. There was a tumor on my wrist and it had eaten away at the bone. My only options were very invasive and painful surgeries with very long recoveries and they had a feeling my cancer had spread to other parts of my body too. It seemed like there was only one option for me.
I have lived a long life of almost 9 years. My Mom bought me on clearance when I was a puppy because I was born with a white spot on my chest and my brothers and sisters were not. I have been in the hospital many times for things that I have eaten, none of which I wouldn't have eaten again. I have been on vacations and adventures. I have chased the cat and curled up next to her when no one is looking. I have spent many hours cuddled up with my family. I even got to be a big brother for a while, that was my favorite. This one option didn't seem too bad after all.
The next day Mom and Dad cried a lot, day and night. Dad even spent the night downstairs with me so I wouldn't be alone the next few nights, since I couldn't get upstairs anymore. They decided to make my last days as special as they could. On Wednesday night Mom and Dad both took some time to cuddle with me on the floor. They rubbed my ears and pet my belly. Mom got some clay and took my paw print, it was a lot bigger than she expected and almost didn't fit! They gave me my own beer, a Rolling Rock, since that was my first beer back in college. Mom even made a whole bowl of popcorn just for the two of us to share, since popcorn was always my favorite snack.
The next morning I got up to Dad cooking me a steak for breakfast, it was a huge steak, even for me. I washed it down with another Rolling Rock. Later that day I went on another car ride, Dad put me in this time. We went to Hague Road Nature Haven and walked the trails. I never need my leash, so they didn't even use one. It wasn't easy for me, but we walked all the way down to the river where I walked right in and started swimming. I was having the best time I had had in years. I smiled so much today. After we were done with our hike Mom and Dad took me to get some ice cream, I even got to eat my own cone. I was really tired after all of this fun. I was limping pretty bad, but I knew it would be over soon, it was finally time to go to the vet. Mom and Dad went in with me. It was really hard for them to see me there, but I was so tired I just took a nap. When the vet came in I didn't even lift my head, I'd had too much fun. The vet said it was time for me to go to sleep and Mom left the room. Dad held me tight and gave me lots of kisses as I drifted off to sleep. The last words I heard was that Mom and Dad loved me, but I already knew that.
