Hades finds his final sunbeam
Hades, a paragon of nobility.
It is with a sad heart that I must announce that my good and faithful guardian has taken his final prance across the Rainbow Bridge. Last week, Hades the greyhound was diagnosed with bone cancer, and Aurora and I decided to take him on his final visit to the vet, rather than let him deteriorate further. He’s shown up in this blog before, most recently, demonstrating his intimidation skills with his doll. Fortunately, we enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather last week, and Hades was able to spend some of his final hours in one of his favorite pastimes: relaxing on the front porch, alternating between keeping an eye on the neighborhood and napping.
Hades’ loss is particularly difficult for me, since we adopted him after I received the Pew Fellowship and now spend so much time at home. It’s odd, writing while the house is so quiet and not planning my day around his walks at 7, noon, and 6. In addition to his invaluable contributions with spelling and finishing the last tidbits of my breakfast, he simply kept me company, and it’s a palpable absence, trudging downstairs to refill my coffee and not seeing him dopily sprawled across the couch. I’m not sure if a writing blog is an appropriate place for an obituary to my dog, but there simply isn’t any other place to put it, so I’ll at least keep it short by quoting my friend, Margie Price: “The Spirit Dogs will show Hades where the leaf piles and good sunbeams are.”
Good bye, buddy.
How Hades and I spent our last afternoon, together.