One of My Favorite Dogs

There once was a dog named Abby Rae,

Whose tongue stuck out halfway,

It wasn't meant to be rude

Or express a bad mood,

It just happened to be that way all day.

My friend Andrea's dog, Abby (also known as Abby Rae) died over the summer. She was fairly young for a small dog- just nine. She had suffered some health issues such as kidney failure, etc. Like many tiny dogs she also had some dental issues that led to multiple tooth extractions, hence the limerick above.

Andrea took very good care of Abby, even giving her daily sub-cutaneous fluids and feeding her baby food. Abby was a good sport and was still a happy little dog but finally took a turn for the worse. Andrea took her to the vet to be put to sleep and then we buried her in my backyard.

Which brings me to the funny part of the story..... I called my mom and told her about Abby and she reminded me of what had happened to one of her co-workers years ago. My mom's friend, Sandy, took their dog to the vet's to be put to sleep. He had been sick and the vet had recommended that it was time.

I can't remember the dog's name but for the sake of this conversation let's just call him Rex. Anyway, the whole family is there saying their goodbyes to Rex. The vet gives the dog the shot and Rex is gone. They leave Rex there to be disposed of by the office staff. Then Sandy and her grieving family head back home only to discover Rex waiting on the front porch. He had beat them home.

It turned out that the vet's office had just tossed Rex out in the back to be picked up by the rendering truck. Rex must not have had the right dosage since he woke up and immediately headed for home. Sandy didn't have the heart to take him back and Rex lived out his days with his family.