I think it’s fair to say that we all know our pets won’t live forever. I’d say it is also fair to say that we probably don’t give much thought to what our lives will be like once they’re gone; at least Holly and I hadn’t. We never considered what our house would sound like, absent of his little feet trotting through. We never considered what dinner would be like without him sitting at our feet, hoping we’d pass him a little treat. We also never considered what bed time would be like, without him walking all over us, trying to find his spot. Unfortunately we got to experience all those things this past week, after deciding it was time to have him put to sleep because of his failing health. We both know it was the right thing to do for him, and the right time to do it… but it certainly didn’t make it easier.
Oscar had been in our family since the very beginning. Holly and I used to joke that he picked me before she did. On our second date, I was waiting for Holly in the living room of her grandmother’s house as she got ready, when Oscar came through and hopped up in my lap and laid down; happy to have me pet him. Nana and Holly were both enamored by the fact that he had done this… and frankly I am too after getting to know him better… turns out Oscar really didn’t like much of anyone. In his later years he started warming up to other people, somewhat. When Holly and I were gone on one of our trips, he’d let our parents pet him once or twice before running off under the bed.
As hateful as he was, we loved him and miss him. He was our little old man.
–Dan Thompson