On August 19, 1997 we brought Sonny home to live with us and ten years later to the day we sent Sonny to live in God’s home.

We had him euthanized a little after 7pm this past Sunday. It was such a gift to him and to me that he went so peacefully.

Sunday was a very hard day. If you’ve been following along you know that Sonny had a nasal tumor that was slowly claiming his life. On Saturday I made the very difficult decision to end his suffering. Ironically the date of his passing was the ten year anniversary of when he became our dog. I believe it was a divine intervention of the universe sending me a sign that I had chosen the right time.

We spent our last day with him by treating him to all the things he loved. He ate like a king and received lots of petting which was his favorite thing of all.

At one point I got a chance to spend some time alone with him. I took him out to the pool for his last swim but rather than swim he sat in the water on the step. I think he was afraid to go out by himself. He did later swim once the rest of the family joined us.

We sat alone together for quite awhile. I told him how much we loved him and thanked him for his loyalty. Then we sat quietly, listening to the birds, watching the squirrels, and taking in the beauty of the trees and flowers surrounding us. It made me sad that he no longer wanted to chase the squirrels or run in the grass. When did he get so old? It happened so gradually that I hadn’t noticed. At that moment I realized how old and sick he really was. Now looking back at photos it’s more than obvious.

His last supper was a pork chop, corn, and lots and lots of treats. His belly was so full and he was so worn out from swimming that he was falling asleep with his head up.

Our plan was for the kids to go out to dinner with a neighbor. As I was getting them ready to go, Isabelle who has sensory issues, began complaining that none of her clothes felt right and that she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She no longer wanted to go with my neighbor which prompted Madeline to whine about staying home. My hubby decided that rather than he stay home for the euthanasia he would take the kids out for ice cream. I think he was more than happy to have an “out”. I was relieved too because I was upset enough and I don’t think I could have handled seeing him lose it.

My best friend Rhonda who is a vet and another vet friend Aileen called to let us know that they would be at the house at 7 pm. That gave us 25 minutes to finish our good-byes. I set up the camera with the timer so we could get a family photo with Sonny. I was a nervous wreck so it was no surprise that I cut off some heads.




My hubby and the kids took turns privately saying good bye to Sonny. Isabelle was last. When I came in to see what was taking her so long I found her hysterically crying. This is the first time she had cried or voiced any sadness about Sonny. She was finally understanding the finality of the fact that he would no longer be here when she got home. I was able to calm her down enough to get her in the car but she bolted back in to say good bye one more time. It broke my heart in a million little pieces.

My hubby and the kids left just as Rhonda and Aileen arrived. Sonny was so excited to see Rhonda that he had a pretty bad coughing and wheezing spell. It was really hard to see him jump up to greet her with his tail wagging knowing what we were about to do.

The rest is a blur of tears so I will save you from all the details. It was such a gift from Rhonda and Aileen that he was put to sleep at home. He was not at all stressed. All he knew was that two of his favorite people were petting and kissing him as he went to sleep. At first it was difficult to see him so lifeless but then the realization that he was no longer suffering sunk in. I hadn’t seen him look so peaceful in a long time. In the last few months his sleeping was plagued with snoring and a slow trickle of blood from his nose.

I hugged and kissed him one last time then went down to the pool to sit where I sat with Sonny a few hours earlier and cried like a baby.

The house feels weird. I keep looking for him to be in all his usual places. I have lost pets before but none of them have hurt like this. There was something special about Sonny. He was such a gift to us and I’m grateful that we gave him the gift of easing him out of this world in such a loving way.

We will never forget you, Sonny Boy. You will always have a special place in our hearts.

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