Memento Mori for Dogs

6 months since we said farewell to our beloved Bruno.

I started writing this in April last year, and I can’t remember why. I say I started writing it, but all I did was create a draft with a title.

I really wanted to express in writing how I was feeling at the time of his passing, as it hit me hard. But life got in the way and I didn’t get round to it.

Non-dog lovers don’t understand, they say, or at least think to themselves “it’s only a dog”. If you’re a dog lover, you’ll know that they are part of your family.

The 26th April, We took him to the vet, my wife and I, both sick to our stomachs but knowing it was the right thing to do. Bruno was calm, thank goodness. He had a sedative the night before and again that morning. The staff were wonderful, gentle, kind and deeply understanding.

They warned us that, because of his age, his veins might collapse when they tried to insert the line. If that happened, they would have to place a needle directly into his heart. We held our breath as they began, silently praying. Thank heavens the needle went in straight away and the line was ready.

We were both in tears, doing everything we could to stay composed so he would not sense our fear. We kept whispering, “Good boy”, “You’re so brave”, “Go to sleep, sweetheart”, each word trembling as we tried to stay strong for him.

Then came the final moment. The mixture entered his bloodstream and, within seconds, he was at peace. It did not feel real. One moment he was with us, the next he was gone, but it was gentle, calm and as kind an ending as we could have hoped for.

He was still warm as we kissed him on the head and said goodbye.

That weekend was so painful. The day after we went shopping as we normally would, then came home as normal. The thought that I’d see Bruno when we walked in the door, then quickly realising he’s gone, hit me like a tonne of bricks, I burst into tears, my heart viscerally ached.

If you know my art, you know I like to put a humorous spin on difficult subjects through my art. So I created this piece, read it as you’ll notice the tinge of humour.

Love to you dog lovers out there who’ve had to say goodbye to their four legged sweethearts.

Bruno had a long, happy life. We adopted him at 7 years old and he lived to the ripe old age of 17.

Take care,

SLART.