Good doggy, Buttons.

Buttons a few years ago

Today we faced the hard task of putting Buttons, our 17-year old family dog, to sleep.  We have had Buttons since he was 3-months old and he had proven himself to be a loyal and sweet family dog through the years.  He's gone with us through several moves and road trips, stayed by my mom's side when she was going through radiation treatment for breast cancer, waited for me by the front door every time I would leave the house for the three-hour drive back to Seattle or Bellingham when I was in college, and would always position himself somewhere in the house where he could keep an eye on the most people.


Even when his position as Top Dog was displaced when Mango came around 10 years ago, Buttons never failed to impress.  He proved that old dogs could learn new tricks when we taught him all the things Mango was learning in obedience school.  He was always happy and eager to be pet and cuddle with anyone who wanted some doggy love.


In the past few years, Buttons had slowed down quite a bit, but would sometimes still have a burst of energy to spaz around the house or backyard.  He preferred croissants and pan de sal to dog food, and favored long naps in sunny spots in the house.  His hips seemed to be giving him more and more problems, his eyes developed some haziness, he started acting like an old man who forgot where he was half the time and developed some incontinence.  


He'd been living in my parents house this whole time, but for the past week he'd been staying at our house since my parents are in the Philippines.  When I brought him to our house, it really struck me how old he was, and how hard it was for him to get in any kind of comfortable position.  He'd circle a spot for five minutes, like he was waiting for his trick hip to pop so that he could finally collapse.  I caught him trying to sleep while standing up, maybe because it hurt to much to move.  He would yelp sometimes when we tried to pet him, and he was so skinny now.


Baxter has loved having Buttons at our house, both as a playmate, a soft thing to pet, and as someone to share his food with when he doesn't want to eat it. He liked playing with his leash and walking him around the house. He got so excited seeing the dog, he even knows how to say "Buddy" now.  I hope he doesn't get too affected by all of us crying about Buttons.  When we got home today and I saw his food dish, I started crying.  Bax gave me a big hug and ran to get some tissue to dab my cheeks with.


We brought Buddy to Dr. Irwin's office today and stayed with him until the end.  I felt all the tension in his body leave as he melted into my arms after getting the sedative.  It was me, Billie, Mike, and Baxter in the exam room, huddled around Buttons as he lay there, telling him how much we loved him and that he was going to a better place without pain.  Dr. Irwin was very kind and said that this was probably the last act of kindness we could give to our 17-year old dog, and that we could probably eke out a couple more weeks or months with pain medications but I didn't want to risk seeing him decline even more than he had already and having to wrangle with this decision again.  I'm still trying to convince myself that we made the humane decision to do this, and of course Buttons was acting spry and happy all morning.  The  past couple days have been rough.  I didn't want to have to do this.  He was such a loyal and loving dog, really the best dog ever.


Sleep well, Buttons, now and forever.  We will always love you.

Buttons - May 6, 2011