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Reading all of these stories of great loss and friendships put on hold until a future reunion has brought back a flood of emotion. Last summer I also lost my best friend and everyday I see things that remind of the joy he brought into our lives.
Our Chocolate Lab Mocha (who would ever think to name a Chocolate Lab Mocha??) had two great loves in his live...first and foremost came eating. He would eat anything that was could get a hold of. As a puppy he got into some lemons and devoured them, he like to eat tomatoes from the plant when we weren't watching. His other love was hearing the sound of the tailgate of our truck opening up becuase he knew that meant road trip for the dogs. He loved to hike with the family no matter where it was, on the beach or in the mountains, he could run free and play with his life long friends. Well one July morning we decide that we would load up the kids and the dogs and make an hour drive out into the mountains to make a mile and a half hike into a lake. It was on the warm side so I loaded up a lot of water for our trip.
When we arrived at our hiking spot Mocha (like always) couldn't contain himself, you see eventhough he was approaching his seventh birthday he never really grew up....he was always that excited little puppy that we brought home when he was seven weeks old. When that tailgate opened he was off...like shot out of a cannon...this 130 pound beast was ready to sniff everything in sight. We headed off on our hike to enjoy our time with each other.........
As we hit the halfway point of our hike Mocha's breathing was becoming labored so I decided that we would stop there and let him rest. He'd never had to rest after such a short distance. He seemed to me like he has over hearting so I game him as much water as I could get him to take. My wife, kids and other dog headed up to see how the hike was into the lake to see if we could get Mocha to the water so he could cool himself. We determined that it would be too hard of a hike so we headed back towards my truck where I had 5 gallons of water and so that we could drive him to a nearby stream. We took it slowly as Mocha made his way down but after just a quarter of a mile he began to stagger. He would stop to rest and then struggle to try and go on. We knew that if we couldn't get him to the truck quickly that we would lose him so we decided to try and carry him the last half mile. For an hour he carried him on our makeshift stretcher (made out of our coats) we drug him when we needed to. Finally we made it down to the bottom on the hill...just 100 yards or so from my truck. We set Mocha down under a tree in some shade. I went to see how close I could get my truck to him to get him loaded up. When I retruned to get Mocha I found that he had drug himself over to the edge of the trail and was now lying half way over the side of the mountain. I ran over and grabbed his front paws as he began to slide off the mountain but I couldn't hang on and he started to go...I jumped up and got behind him to try and stop him and to brace his impact. We both slid down the steep grade about 40 feet into some rocks. For the next two hours I tried to carry him up the hill failing everytime. Between the attempts I laid his head in my lap, petting him, trying to get him to drink, and fighting back my tears. My wife went and called for help. It would be a while before anyone could arrive. As I sat there exhusted, emotionally drained and ready to accept that my dog, my puppy and my best friend would die in my arms when I heard a voice call from the trail above to see if I needed help. A fellow hiker had spotted us and was willing to lend a hand. Together we are able to get Mocha back to the trail, it took the two of us about half an hour. I raced as fast as I could towards our town as we tried to get a Vet on the phone. As we neared town my wife was able to get a Vet on the phone and she was going to meet us at the office as it was Sunday night by now.
Mocha was taken into the back room where the Vet could begin to save his life. "Thank-you God" I quietly prayed we had made it just in time. The vet started an IV, pushed a steroid and began the process of getting his body temprature down. She told us that he seemed to be stabilizing but we wouldn't know anything really for a day or two. She suggested that we head home so we filled out the paper work, spent a little more time with Mocha as turned to head home for the night. I took a step or two towards the door when I heard a whimper, I turned back to see Mocha lift his head and draw his final breath. My puppy was gone. He fought so bravely and held on for so long but in the end his heart just couldn't overcome the damage.
I still am dealing with a feeling of guilt, knowing that I bear some if not total responsibilty for what happened that day. I should have seen signs earlier, should have headed back sooner and certainly never should have left for the couple of minutes on the side of the mountain like I did. In the end I failed my dog.
Thank-you for giving me a place to share the events of that day with some fellow dog lovers. There is a theraputic value in being able to bear our feelings with people who can understand what many others can't. I am so sorry that so many of you have had experiences of loss like you have but love has a price and that price is loss....its a price that is worth paying everytime.
Our Chocolate Lab Mocha (who would ever think to name a Chocolate Lab Mocha??) had two great loves in his live...first and foremost came eating. He would eat anything that was could get a hold of. As a puppy he got into some lemons and devoured them, he like to eat tomatoes from the plant when we weren't watching. His other love was hearing the sound of the tailgate of our truck opening up becuase he knew that meant road trip for the dogs. He loved to hike with the family no matter where it was, on the beach or in the mountains, he could run free and play with his life long friends. Well one July morning we decide that we would load up the kids and the dogs and make an hour drive out into the mountains to make a mile and a half hike into a lake. It was on the warm side so I loaded up a lot of water for our trip.
When we arrived at our hiking spot Mocha (like always) couldn't contain himself, you see eventhough he was approaching his seventh birthday he never really grew up....he was always that excited little puppy that we brought home when he was seven weeks old. When that tailgate opened he was off...like shot out of a cannon...this 130 pound beast was ready to sniff everything in sight. We headed off on our hike to enjoy our time with each other.........
As we hit the halfway point of our hike Mocha's breathing was becoming labored so I decided that we would stop there and let him rest. He'd never had to rest after such a short distance. He seemed to me like he has over hearting so I game him as much water as I could get him to take. My wife, kids and other dog headed up to see how the hike was into the lake to see if we could get Mocha to the water so he could cool himself. We determined that it would be too hard of a hike so we headed back towards my truck where I had 5 gallons of water and so that we could drive him to a nearby stream. We took it slowly as Mocha made his way down but after just a quarter of a mile he began to stagger. He would stop to rest and then struggle to try and go on. We knew that if we couldn't get him to the truck quickly that we would lose him so we decided to try and carry him the last half mile. For an hour he carried him on our makeshift stretcher (made out of our coats) we drug him when we needed to. Finally we made it down to the bottom on the hill...just 100 yards or so from my truck. We set Mocha down under a tree in some shade. I went to see how close I could get my truck to him to get him loaded up. When I retruned to get Mocha I found that he had drug himself over to the edge of the trail and was now lying half way over the side of the mountain. I ran over and grabbed his front paws as he began to slide off the mountain but I couldn't hang on and he started to go...I jumped up and got behind him to try and stop him and to brace his impact. We both slid down the steep grade about 40 feet into some rocks. For the next two hours I tried to carry him up the hill failing everytime. Between the attempts I laid his head in my lap, petting him, trying to get him to drink, and fighting back my tears. My wife went and called for help. It would be a while before anyone could arrive. As I sat there exhusted, emotionally drained and ready to accept that my dog, my puppy and my best friend would die in my arms when I heard a voice call from the trail above to see if I needed help. A fellow hiker had spotted us and was willing to lend a hand. Together we are able to get Mocha back to the trail, it took the two of us about half an hour. I raced as fast as I could towards our town as we tried to get a Vet on the phone. As we neared town my wife was able to get a Vet on the phone and she was going to meet us at the office as it was Sunday night by now.
Mocha was taken into the back room where the Vet could begin to save his life. "Thank-you God" I quietly prayed we had made it just in time. The vet started an IV, pushed a steroid and began the process of getting his body temprature down. She told us that he seemed to be stabilizing but we wouldn't know anything really for a day or two. She suggested that we head home so we filled out the paper work, spent a little more time with Mocha as turned to head home for the night. I took a step or two towards the door when I heard a whimper, I turned back to see Mocha lift his head and draw his final breath. My puppy was gone. He fought so bravely and held on for so long but in the end his heart just couldn't overcome the damage.
I still am dealing with a feeling of guilt, knowing that I bear some if not total responsibilty for what happened that day. I should have seen signs earlier, should have headed back sooner and certainly never should have left for the couple of minutes on the side of the mountain like I did. In the end I failed my dog.
Thank-you for giving me a place to share the events of that day with some fellow dog lovers. There is a theraputic value in being able to bear our feelings with people who can understand what many others can't. I am so sorry that so many of you have had experiences of loss like you have but love has a price and that price is loss....its a price that is worth paying everytime.
At least Mocha spent his last day doing what he loved and spent it with the family he loved so dearly. He is waiting for you now at the rainbow bridge with all his new friends that he can't wait for you to meet. he is happy don't worry