July 24 Thought of the Day

 

When you grieve it is equal parts emotional and physical

Bailey’s Last Day

 

Bailey’s last day

She awoke and grandpa had to carry her downstairs. She didn’t eat breakfast for a few hours but ate all of her favorite food. When Silas (grandma and grandpa’s grandson) came, she wasn’t too interested but she seemed to perk up a little after that. She went in the back yard and did her business. 

Grandpa threw, from about 1 foot away, the paper towel cardboard a couple times. She didn’t catch it but enjoyed it. Then she chewed on it a little and grandma threw it but she caught from her. Later, she licked Silas’s feet. Grandma cleaned off his feet. Grandpa put on the leash and she went out the front door and sniffed a while. Then they went back inside. 

About this time a UPS truck came and she barked at it. Later, grandpa gave Bailey some Quaker Oat Squares as treats and she gobbled them up. Aunt Brittany visited a bit and petted her. One of the last things she did before she went to doggy heaven was go for a ride. Grandpa put the leash on, helped her get up, and she walked out to the car. Grandpa put her in and she laid down. Eventually, she stood up so she could see the cars coming and grandpa urged her to growl at a truck the was coming. When she did it caused her pain and she yelped. She patiently waited in the car with her grandparents to see the vet. 

She got to bark at the dog getting into the car next to us. It had some of the Bailey ferocity we know lol

She waited more than 50 minutes just to see the vet. Grandma and grandpa weren’t happy about that at all. When they finally said it was time to get in, grandpa lifted her out of the car and Bailey walked in on her own with energy. She sniffed along the way and even squatted to leave a big pee. Once in the room she walked around, sniffed and panted. She started to shake a little. She put her chin in grandpa’s lap and then grandma’s lap. 

When a lady finally came Bailey shook more. The lady asked a few questions and said she would take Bailey back to give her a catheter for the injections. Then she would bring her back to be with grandma and grandpa. Bailey had a lot of energy but she was very afraid. 

When the vet arrived with the needles, he got close to pet her but she snapped at him. He left and got an assistant. He also took off his lab coat. Grandma and grandpa thought that, and he long wait, might have been why she did that. Grandpa put on a muzzle and the vet gave her a sedative. It worked immediately. She started going down and grandma and grandpa tried to ease her down but her head plopped down. It was mere seconds after the lethal injection and she was gone. 😢

Since humor is one of grandpa’s coping mechanisms, he said with tears, “I guess it’s too late to change our minds.”

Bailey’s eyes remained open and her tongue out a little. The dr listened for her heart for a bit and then stopped. He said nothing other than they would leave them alone and grandpa and grandma could take as long as needed. 

Grandma and grandpa hugged, kissed, and petted Bailey. They also cried. It seemed wrong to leave her there. It also seemed strange to know Bailey wasn’t waiting for them. 

Driving home it started to rain. Grandpa thought of how rain is a blessing from God. In spite of their heavy hearts, God demonstrated His love by giving the blessing of rain. 

Ecuador Observances

 

My wife and I visited Ecuador for ten days. Every location has its own idiosyncrasies. Here are some I noted:

1.  When using public bathrooms, expect to make a payment before you leave your deposit. Normally, you will pay 15 cents to go number one and 25 cents for number 2. Also, some places you pay for toilet paper and it is only a few squares. Therefore, take some with you or snag some napkins before you leave restaurants  

2.  Men’s urinals are often open to view of all. Well, I don’t mean EVERYTHING is open to the public. I either had a small partition or small wall to block things but often you could stand behind me and watch the process from there. 

3.  The opposite sex was the bathroom money collector/attendant. My wife and I never understood that. Why not had the lady work with the women and the man with the men?

4.  Public busses try very hard to be on schedule.  They must have to prove it too.  Twice we took busses on long trips. 

There is a person at the door who collected bus fare. Also, at certain stops along the way the attendant would jump out of the bus as the driver slowed down. They ran with a time card and had it stamped in a time clock and ran back to the bus. If no customers were boarding, the driver already had the bus moving again before the attendant jumped through the door. 

5.  Bus drivers and tour guides text while driving. 

6.  Good prices are great. It was common to see bananas and mandarins sell at 20 for $1.00.  We often bought breakfast and lunch for $2.50 to $3.50 per person respectively. The price included filling meals, coffee/tea, and fresh fruit juices.  

7.  When walking the streets of Quito, watch your step. There are a lot of dogs roaming the streets and they leave their droppings everywhere. We didn’t do it but we saw many turds that were stepped on.

I will add more when I think of them.