Sadie
My brother Jordan posted this eulogy for his dog, Sadie, after putting her to sleep yesterday:
As human beings we all search for meaning and connection to life. For some it comes in the form of religion, faith, family, children, friends, nature, amongst others. One of my strongest connections to life as anyone who knows me well will tell you has been my dog Sades. For 14 years she has been my rock, my connection to life and to love.
As your health has gone from bad to worse over the last several days, I looked to you to tell me that it’s time to say goodbye. A simple quote played in my head all day long yesterday. It’s a quote I hold close to me as it’s inscribed on the headstone on the gravesite directly next to where my mother is buried. From the first time I read it some 10 years ago it’s always read close to my heart. I later learned it was Shakespeare. It reads, “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life, is rounded with a sleep. Last night I prepared to find the answer if it was time to say goodbye. I did a simple google search “How To Say Goodbye to a Dog.” I planned for several hours of research and reading as my OCD usually commits me to, but I ended up only reading the first article on the search and my question was answered; the need to research further ceased. The article was entitled, “Saying Goodbye to Buddy.” (http://www.womansday.com/life/pet-care/putting-a-dog-to-sleep) It was a touching article about a family saying goodbye to their dog Buddy. As I read it, fate hit me. As they put Buddy to sleep the writers husband whispered in his ear, “Goodnight, sweet puppy, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” And then my childhood memory that I thought was all but forgotten came back to me. When I was kid I had a bulletin board in my room. On it were phone numbers, photos of family and friends, magazine cutouts and things I wanted to remember. I had one quote on the board. A large handwritten quote I wrote on a piece of paper as a child remained there from the time I was a young kid until the time my father sold the house several years ago. It read the original quote, “Goodnight, sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” I immediately googled the quote last night to learn it was Shakespeare as well. I don’t know where I heard it or read it as a kid as I hated reading, and didn’t read books at all, let alone Shakespeare, and most likely didn’t even know what the quote meant. But I guess for some reason or another the words stood out enough for me to write them down and hang them there for all those years. Maybe it was there all those years just for tonight. But there it was, and things started to make sense and to connect.
Right after I read the article I took you for our last walk. As you struggled with every ounce of remaining energy to make it outside you surprised me and made it all the way across the street and to the grass by the water where you collapsed. As I carried you back across the park, through my lobby, and up the apartment to lay you down you solidified my quest for the answer I desperately searched for the last couple of days. It was time, and any more time I put you through this would be selfish when what was needed was selfless.
My best friend I say to you, We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life, is rounded with a sleep. Through my darkest of times you were always my rock. Thank you for saving my life over and over again, I will forever miss you and love you.
As your health has gone from bad to worse over the last several days, I looked to you to tell me that it’s time to say goodbye. A simple quote played in my head all day long yesterday. It’s a quote I hold close to me as it’s inscribed on the headstone on the gravesite directly next to where my mother is buried. From the first time I read it some 10 years ago it’s always read close to my heart. I later learned it was Shakespeare. It reads, “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life, is rounded with a sleep. Last night I prepared to find the answer if it was time to say goodbye. I did a simple google search “How To Say Goodbye to a Dog.” I planned for several hours of research and reading as my OCD usually commits me to, but I ended up only reading the first article on the search and my question was answered; the need to research further ceased. The article was entitled, “Saying Goodbye to Buddy.” (http://www.womansday.com/life/pet-care/putting-a-dog-to-sleep) It was a touching article about a family saying goodbye to their dog Buddy. As I read it, fate hit me. As they put Buddy to sleep the writers husband whispered in his ear, “Goodnight, sweet puppy, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” And then my childhood memory that I thought was all but forgotten came back to me. When I was kid I had a bulletin board in my room. On it were phone numbers, photos of family and friends, magazine cutouts and things I wanted to remember. I had one quote on the board. A large handwritten quote I wrote on a piece of paper as a child remained there from the time I was a young kid until the time my father sold the house several years ago. It read the original quote, “Goodnight, sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” I immediately googled the quote last night to learn it was Shakespeare as well. I don’t know where I heard it or read it as a kid as I hated reading, and didn’t read books at all, let alone Shakespeare, and most likely didn’t even know what the quote meant. But I guess for some reason or another the words stood out enough for me to write them down and hang them there for all those years. Maybe it was there all those years just for tonight. But there it was, and things started to make sense and to connect.
Right after I read the article I took you for our last walk. As you struggled with every ounce of remaining energy to make it outside you surprised me and made it all the way across the street and to the grass by the water where you collapsed. As I carried you back across the park, through my lobby, and up the apartment to lay you down you solidified my quest for the answer I desperately searched for the last couple of days. It was time, and any more time I put you through this would be selfish when what was needed was selfless.
My best friend I say to you, We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life, is rounded with a sleep. Through my darkest of times you were always my rock. Thank you for saving my life over and over again, I will forever miss you and love you.