The life and times of a family pet (abridged)

In any family where pets are members, there is a day that everyone dreads. I don't even really feel I need to say what that day is, but when you introduce a pet into your home, you know that inevitably that they are going to leave you.

Today is that day in my house. At the end of the day today I'm going to pack up our beloved KitKat (yes, I have a dog named KitKat) and take her to the vet to ease her into that "good night" to borrow a line from poetry.

After a long heartfelt discussion with our daughter on the reasons why, it's hard not to reminisce. The good times, the bad times, the downright hilarious times. And when one reminisces, it always amazes me what comes to mind. My wife would tell you that I can be a truly random person, and that's okay, it is just the way my mind works. As we finished discussing why we made the decision, I started thinking to myself, oddly enough, about numbers, which brought this song to mind:

Seasons of Love - Rent

The first time I heard this song was thanks to a Music Ed major friend of mine (I'm betting she's reading this and grinning) who instilled in me a love of Broadway Musicals. So as we started talking about the life and times of KitKat, numbers entered into my brain. So I grabbed my laptop, and here they are, or at least what I think are some of the highlights.

The life and times of KitKat (abridged):

13 years and some change - KitKat has been in our lives for that long. She entered our life in the summer of 2004, just as we were settling into our first home in Austin, TX. So many memories from that little house.

6.5 months - The vet's estimate of how old she was when we adopted her. We don't know much about KitKat's life before she entered ours, other than she was abandoned and found along the side of a road. Looking back on that, it explains so much about her early days, and just how far she's come.

30 dogs (I think) - When we made the decision to adopt, the group that we got her from came highly recommended as they had great animals looking for great homes. That recommendation was true, and we've been in love ever since. I'm pretty sure they had 30 dogs at the time, all in fosters or other living arrangements. We spent a lot of time on their website looking for "just the right mutt" so to speak...

4 dogs in an outdoor pen - The day we went to check out dogs for adoption, we'd landed on a different dog that was being fostered. A black lab mix that was pretty young. On our way to look at the puppy, this scrappy looking dog that was in a large pen with 3 others stopped what she was doing and came over to see us. We gave her scratches behind the ears, and thought she was nice, pretty goofy looking, and well just plain interesting. I remember saying "she looks like a hyena from The Lion King" and little did I know that would follow her for the rest of her days. But we had our heart set on this other puppy (or so we thought). It didn't work out and as we left, a little dejected, we walked by the same pen and that same goofy dog (a good friend always refers to her as "Scooby Doo") came back over to get our attention. Little did we know, our fates were sealed from then on.

14 steps & 24 hours - For the longest time, KitKat was deathly afraid of stairs, and so she was a downstairs dog. As we were preparing for my folks to visit our house for the first time together, we thought this would work out well, as my parents could just have the upstairs to themselves. Best laid plans.... KitKat overcame her fear of those 14 stairs roughly 24 hours before my parents arrived, and she spent the next few days exploring this whole new world. It wasn't long after she conquered the stairs she discovered the comfy futon, the comfy bed in the master bedroom, the trash cans, and my collection of YuGiOh cards.

1 "Bring Your Dog to Work Day" - because if your department head just happens to be gone on this most epic of days, your whole office participates. And let's face it, when part of your office is a huge library, you've got to take your dog to work! I'm sure every one of my former co-workers would agree that was a great day at the office, though we didn't get much accomplished. BEST DAY AT WORK EVER.

3 houses - From our first home, to a short lived rental, to our current home, KitKat has lived in them all. She's had her favorite spots, and the yards have always been hers.  However she gladly shares them with squirrels as long as they agree to be chased, a lot, and often.

2 cats - KitKat's first "little brother" so to speak, was introduced into her life about 3 years after we got her. He was a streetwise rogue we named "Ed" and he liked our house on the block the best. We were never quite sure what happened to him (he was a rogue after all) but I think deep down KitKat missed him. Our current cat Callie entered our life not long afterwards and they've been "frenemies" ever since. But I truly believe deep down they care about each other, though neither would admit it.

4 (or more) escape attempts - In her lifetime she's been Houdini a number of times. The first time was on a spring Saturday morning in Austin. The yard gate had come open, and she took advantage. We were frantic. My wife took off in one direction, retracing their normal walking route. I took off in my truck scouring the neighborhood. I found her first, lounging under a shade tree just around the corner. I picked her up, and then we went and found my wife. One of the more recent times was how we really met our neighbors of several years now, and we've been friends ever since. They had thought that if she was a stray they would adopt her.  I had to break it to them that no, that was in fact our dog. She's since made one other escape, and ended up on their porch. For a while I questioned her loyalties...

2 puppies - A good friend of mine got a dog not long after we had KitKat, and that puppy's name was Bo, and they were pals from the get go. The trouble they got into was legendary, including a visit from the Austin Police Department that required a whirlwind trip back from San Antonio (yes all of that actually happened).  Jon, I hope if you're reading this, I hope you laughed as loud as I did while writing this. I'm certain that the first dog KitKat will seek out in the afterlife will be Bo, all dogs go to heaven after all. The second puppy would be the other canine family member we added to our home in March. KitKat has helped raise Abby just as much as we have, and just like any siblings they have their good days and bad. They may not always get along but they are always there for each other, unless bones or treats are involved, then all bets are off. I think Abby may just miss her the most.

1 daughter - The day we brought our daughter home from the hospital is a day I will never forget. KitKat just HAD TO KNOW what this tiny human was all about. Though she did not appreciate smelly diapers, tail pulling, and loud crying, she did appreciate feeding time, especially when our daughter fed herself. Oh, and of course whenever she cried the looks we would get from KitKat as to why we weren't acting fast enough to soothe the baby were downright hilarious. I swear if she'd had opposable thumbs she would've said "You two relax, I got this". They've been friends ever since, actually no, they're more than that, they're pals.

Numerous Hearts - Today those hearts will break, and there's no way around it, probably none more than that of my daughter. In 13 years since she joined our family, KitKat has seen a lot and touched a lot of lives. There were several calls/texts/messages that went out last night, and that have come in today that have been comforting.  To all of those folks my family and I thank you. But there's comfort in knowing that everything that KitKat has been going through as of late will end, and end peacefully. I've already referenced one song in this post, but I'm going to reference a line from one more: "a heart that's broke, is a hear that's been loved". - Ed Sheeran "Supermarket Flowers".

Goodbye sweet girl, we love you, and you will forever be a good dog, forever our dog. Enjoy your rest, you've earned it.