Last Wednesday, July 18th, we had to say goodbye to Brutis. After 12+ years we have become a dogless household. It was sad and a little different after Simba was gone, but now it's quite an adjustment. We find ourselves thinking "did we leave the dog in?" or going to put the dog out, all of those routines that become natural after becoming a dog owner. There is definitely an empty feeling in our house.
Again it was a matter of us knowing when to take him to the vet to be put down. Over the months he had some bad episodes of not eating, but had snapped out after a few days. This time he was not showing any sign of snapping out. As we were trying to decide what to do with Brutis we actually googled for advice. One of the things I read was that when your dog doesn't seem to enjoy your presence, or to be getting joy out of the world then it is time. Brutis hadn't eaten for days and would not wag his tail at anything we said. When Kelly took him in to the vet she agreed that it was the right thing to do. She said he most likely had cancer that had gotten into his lungs, causing his breathing to be difficult.
It was difficult to say goodbye, but even worse was having to see how hurt Ethan was. We let him know what was going on and gave him a chance to say goodbye. Watching Ethan deal with the emotions of losing Brutis has been heart wrenching.
Brutis became part of our family about a year after we got Simba. It was my first year of teaching because I remember taking both dogs to the school I taught at. It was love at first sight (well love as far as pets go) when we found Brutis in his kennel at the Humane Society. His happy, gentle personality was obvious and we knew we had to take this guy home. The only background given to us was that the male, yellow lab was picked up outside of Boise and that he was about 2-3 years old.
Brutis was always patient with the kids. He'd let them sit on him, nap on him, basically whatever they wanted. . . . . even put headphones on him.
Brutis LOVED the water! If there was water anywhere close by, he would find it. One time we were out in the desert outside of Boise somewhere and as we got out of the car we joked that Brutis would be in the big mud puddle close to the car. After letting the dogs out it was only a second before Brutis was lying in it. Like Simba, trips to Stanley were like trips to Disneyland. We had so much fun seeing what kinds of things we could throw in the water that Brutis would go get. I remember several times thinking we were going to lose him to the white waters of the Salmon. The "ball" was Brutis's favorite thing in the world. He would chase it until he couldn't walk, literally.
When I reflect back over the years that we had Brutis (and Simba) I am reminded of so much joy they brought to our life. As they had gotten older I think we looked at them more of an inconvenience than anything. Dogs are amazing, we (the dog owners) are their whole world. Brutis was a prime example of this. Anyone who had ever been around him would have his head on their lap, or a slobber from him trying to nudge them for some attention.
Brutis was a gentle soul who we'll miss dearly, and always remember.
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