When Mugsy had been with us almost 18 months, he told me he thought he was ready for a dog of his own. He and I discussed it with The Source, who gave us his blessing; within short order we rescued Chapin. We named Chapin after Mary Chapin Carpenter and Harry Chapin. (If you're unfamiliar with either of these genius singer/songwriters, check them out on Google or Youtube.)
Chapin and Mugsy helped us train a legion of rescued dogs over the years. They never batted an eyelash when a new dog was brought into the pack.
Mugsy and Chapin played a lot together. A favorite game was tug-of-war with an old pair of knotted socks. Chapin eventually lost 3 of her bottom teeth in the front to this rough-housing, leaving her with a tongue that would stick out of her mouth more often than not.
Chapin went into congestive heart failure last Friday. At first we didn't know that's what it was, we just knew she was beginning to fail. By Saturday she exhibited the classic symptoms of congestive heart failure, so I called my vet, Audrey, at home and asked her if she would please come to the house to check Chapin out. Audrey is great like that.
We decided, short of an outright emergent situation, Audrey would come to the house at 7 am Sunday morning.
At 6:30 am, my sister, Shirley showed up and we had a short prayer service for Chapin. It was way cool. We're like that.
At 7 am, Audrey showed up and quickly confirmed our diagnosis. She gave Chapin a sedative to relax her prior to be euthanized. The sedative took about 15 minutes to take effect. We were all able to sit/lay with Chapin on the bed and tell her all about who was waiting for her in heaven.
One week short of her 16th birthday, Chapin died in my arms. Some people can't do that part of it and I understand completely; however, I promise each of our pets that I will stand by them until the very end.
After Chapin had passed, we brought each of the other dogs in to the room to sniff her so they could be reconciled to her death. I don't know if you've ever heard a dog howl in sadness when a pack mate disappears, not to return, but I have and it's heartbreaking. Audrey taught us with the last pet we had who died, that bringing remaining pack mates in to sniff the situation eliminates that level of sadness for them. (If you don't believe that dogs have emotions, you're missing something really important when you deal with them.)
Chapin Always missing you, Mommy
