Today was what seemed like a good day. We had dinner at my Aunt Ann's house and boy did she have a house full of dogs. She has a dog and two cats of her own. Plus my mom's friend, Sue, brought her dogs, and one of them is a small puppy. Then my cousin Ben brought his new puppy. It was a houseful.
My mom left before my brother, dad, and I left since we drove separately. When we got home, she was on the phone with someone. She gave us a hand motion to stay where we were. After she got off the phone, she informed us that my brother's dog, Leo, was upstairs dead. She was going to take him for a walk but she found him on the ground.
Now I was never particularly fond of that dog, but this truly upsets me. My brother went up to see it and I followed shortly. My brother has never gone through this kind of pet death before. Leo was his little buddy. I wish I could give my brother a hug, but I know he doesn't want that. I've been through the cycle of losing an animal friend before, so I know how hard it is. All I can see in my mind right now is Leo's body lying there with his eyes open and a pool of liquid around his mouth. He didn't even look dead to me. He looked kinda like a statue.
He had been having heart problems for some time. And this cold weather we're having in Michigan right now just wasn't helping him. He would come in coughing and not able to catch his breath. He actually collapsed on Christmas Eve. My brother was there for him that time, but he was nowhere to be found this time.
Leo, in a way, was my fault. Well it's a little family joke we have. There were three old ladies my mom was taking care of earlier this year and she always complains about them. So I told my piano teacher, who is also my pastor, that I kinda hoped some of them would pass on. I was joking though. Well the first one passed away a few days after I had said that, but that was the nice one that my mom never complained about. Then a few weeks later, I was telling this story to some of the girls in my youth group at a party and about 5 minutes later, my mom called me to tell me that I better get my butt to confessional because this other lady passed away, and now we have a dog. We used to take care of the dog whenever this lady was in the hospital and my mom promised she would take him when she passed away.
My dad has been saying for quite some time that the goal for the year was to get rid of our two Leo's; we have a cat with the same name. Guess he got that wish in time for the new year. But even so, I think he was just kidding.
My parents were also trying to figure out what to do with the dog when they go away in a few weeks. They seemed to have it all planned out tonight, but now they don't have to worry about the dog. They just need to worry about the cats and rabbit.
I'm kinda gonna miss Leo's barking at me whenever I go downstairs or come back upstairs. Goodbye little pal. Rest in peace Leo the Little. You will be missed (even if some of us don't admit it).
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