Goodbye, Charlie

This Friday, Tyson's mom had Charlie, our 12-year-old black lab/Irish wolfhound mix, put down. He had arthritis pretty bad, and could barely get up to move around the house any more, much less climb the steps to the house or run around with the other dogs. We'd been managing his condition for a while with meds, but he'd finally reached the point where letting him go was kinder than keeping him here. I was able to say good-bye on Friday morning, and sat with him on the couch for a good fifteen to thirty minutes, alternately petting him and crying. Tyson took a few pictures of the two of us together, which I'm very, very glad to have.

I'm glad that he's not hurting anymore, but all in all, I'll miss him a lot. He may not have been the smartest dog in the world, as evidenced by his repeated chasing of the horses after they'd kicked him in the headfour or five times, but he was one of the gentlest dogs that I've ever had the pleasure to know. He'll be greatly missed.