On March 21, 2016, 3:35 pm, we had our dog, Chip, euthanized. I cannot describe the pain I felt in the last week when the decision was made that it is time to let him go. He would have been 13 next month on April 25. He was my first pet. On July 25, 2003, I picked him at a Hardee's restaurant parking lot. Chip was a Miniature Schnauzer (white). His Mom was a Salt & Pepper and his Dad was black. He was the best $300 I've spent! I surprised the children at the lake cabin with him in a basket. Emily was the first to spot that white head that was moving in the basket. He was a cutie then, and he was a cutie when he died.
Last Fall, he started fainting. He was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. A heart murmur was detected when he was 9. We had him on medications, which gave us an additional 5 months of joy. Recently, whenever he exerted himself, whether it was from running or excitement from being fed, he would collapse as he struggled to get up. The collapse lasted about 30 seconds.. When he got up, it was life as usual. The more often we see this, the more we realized he was going downhill. He was almost 13 and we didn't feel surgery to implant a pacemaker was an option at that age. He has lived an awesome life and in return, he gave us love, joy, and laughter. He strengthened our family bond.
Today, he went on two long walks, one with my husband and me, the other, with my daughter. We treated him with lots of goodies - Honeycrisp apple, raspberries, and even, chocolate chips (what can it hurt??). I will miss him greatly as when I cook in the kitchen; he likes to be in the way in case I drop something... I will miss asking, "want to go outside?", "want to get mail?" I enjoyed our private time when I'm home alone.
As this is my knitting blog, I will have to share knitting stories. Chip sat by me for a lot (I mean, A LOT!) of projects. And what's a better way to share than by photos.. You may recognize some projects.
This is his most famous photo in Ravelry. This was Romi's Kleio. He just looked so grand and pompous in it!
He's helped me gather points for Sock Knitter's Anoynomous' Knit In Public Day in the category of "sock with animal and stash"
He liked both my blankets when I'm working on them:
Swoop Shawl
Uh-oh.. the sweater I started 10 years ago that was never finished. He didn't like it anyway... Just look at that face!
Romi's Caret
The year where I made lots of Malabrigo Rasta cowls:
The most recent shawl I had been knitting is Romi's Vertices. I dropped a bunch of stitches. Chip's white hair helped me look at the damage:
I was going to delete this photo but I'm glad I kept it so I can remember his hair. As I'm near the end of this shawl, I worried about not ever going to wear it because it would remind me of the pain while I'm knitting this when we put him down. I decided to see if he liked it.. If he did, I will remember it as the last shawl he modeled for me..
This photo was taken 45 minutes before he passed. I wish I wrapped him a shawl more so I can smell him forever in the shawl!
Thank you for listening to me as I grief and find a way to get over the loss. I will miss his warm body next to mine while I knit. He never chewed on anything! Wait! He did! I knitted a beautiful scarf. I hate a sandwich while driving home one winter. The juice of the sandwich flowed into the scarf without my knowing. I left my scarf on the floor (it fell off the chair). He smelled the juice and chewed it. I never fixed the scarf or wore it again. He was 2 years old then. He never chewed another scarf and I never spilled food or juice on any scarf again.
A much treasured photo... this was taken on our last walk together today. He was my buddy when I gardened. He would follow me around as I checked my plants. I will miss that a lot.
