Last Day At The Vet's
I rub his muzzle,
stroke his belly's white patch.
Does he sense what's coming?
His eyes are moist.
Like many aging dogs,
his knees faltered first.
Anti-inflammatory drugs helped.
An eye fogged over.
Back legs began to buckle.
For months I carried him upstairs
laying him on my bed,
where we dreamed better days.
"Every heart wears out,"
the vet said. It had become
a knot of pain.
Now this.
The vet embraces me,
and goes over the procedure.
Then the difficult question:
"Do you want to be there?"
As the needle goes in,
I keep my eyes
on Sonny, stroking him
and with a gentle voice
reassuring him. I leave
with his collar, everything
--the walls, the table,
the years--a blur.
I give the receptionist
the leash.
Across the street dogs romp
in the park, where I settle
onto an empty bench.
Black and white dogs happily
bark like seals, unaware
of Sonny's absence.
Over and over I recall Sonny
fetching a tennis ball,
retrieving hundreds
of them over the years,
returning the love
he knew I'd never
toss away.
Last Day At The Vet's
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- Joined: 01 Jun 2008, 09:17
Re: Last Day At The Vet's
I had to stop reading. That's how powerful this is.
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- Posts: 2154
- Joined: 18 Apr 2005, 04:57
Re: Last Day At The Vet's
It is a God-sent when someone writes, sings, paints or sculpts - creates - an entity that I need to experience, share in, or that is akin to an experience of my own that hasn't been held in the light for quite some time.
I definitely can relate to this humane event, not only with pets, but with other humans.
Separated but never severed.
(Separated) How long ago was this putting down? Some years, surely; but reads immediate, (but never severed).
Dogs that don't lie aren't dead.
Is it the human touch that creates for our pets their souls.
A dog was sent my way out of the blue darkness my senior year in college - another God-sent - that anima(l) was uber-attached & loyal to me - a dog possessed with its master.
Maybe it is time for me to tell the tail in a poem A Dog with No Name
Bob, I am Thankful you wrote & posted this poem here at the Writer's Block - and I hope it will be agreeable with you for it to represent us in the upcoming December IBPC.
Michael (MV) being optimistic it will be moved to be 1 of the 3.
I definitely can relate to this humane event, not only with pets, but with other humans.
Separated but never severed.
(Separated) How long ago was this putting down? Some years, surely; but reads immediate, (but never severed).
Dogs that don't lie aren't dead.
Is it the human touch that creates for our pets their souls.
A dog was sent my way out of the blue darkness my senior year in college - another God-sent - that anima(l) was uber-attached & loyal to me - a dog possessed with its master.
Maybe it is time for me to tell the tail in a poem A Dog with No Name
Bob, I am Thankful you wrote & posted this poem here at the Writer's Block - and I hope it will be agreeable with you for it to represent us in the upcoming December IBPC.
Michael (MV) being optimistic it will be moved to be 1 of the 3.
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- Posts: 2154
- Joined: 18 Apr 2005, 04:57
Re: Last Day At The Vet's
Just occurred to me as a workshop-suggest for the title:
Leaving from the Vet's
Michael (MV)
Leaving from the Vet's
Michael (MV)