May 28th: What about Brutus?
Brutus, my ever faithful, superbly trained, and absolutely wonderful 95 lb.
black lab was getting his bags packed. He just got all his shots and his health
certificate so that he could fly. I was planning to take him with me when our
plans changed. A little background is necessary so I'll fill you in.
I wasn't really wanting a dog but 5 years ago when I got Brutus for a birthday
present. He was a pup, smaller than my cat and I raised and trained him myself.
He's a great dog and most anyone that's met him will tell you so. Over the years
I've had many a person offer to take Brutus home with them and I've never taken
any of the offers seriously. I've never trusted anyone else to take care of
him the way I have, to keep him disciplined so that all then training isn't
wasted, and to love him back half as much as he'll love them.
You have to understand that Brutus loves everyone, but nobody in the world
compares to his love for daddy. He pouts when I leave and don't take him, he
waits at the window watching for my return, and nothing in the world means more
to him than simply being near me. I've learned more about unconditional love
than any human could ever teach. During his life there have only been two other
people for whom Brutus has displayed the kind of affection towards that he has
for me. One of those persons just happens to be someone that I too trust, love,
and care very deeply for.
This last week she asked me if I'd consider leaving Brutus with her on her
farm. She's got 40 acres of land, a couple horses, goats, chickens, and an sundry
of wild critters that frequent the farm. She loves animals more than I do (I
think of most animals in terms of what they look like on a platter). I couldn't
imagine a better person to entrust Brutus to. For the first time, I took the
offer seriously. It didn't help that I had been thinking about Brutus the day
before. I was no longer going to be working out of my home so Brutus would be
stuck home by himself all day. For such a social animal, that would be pretty
tough for him.
When I combined that with knowing that Brutus absolutely loves being at the
farm, loves the animals, is free to roam about outside, and will have Lyn around
all day, it's a no brainer decision. While I'll really miss my foot warming,
toilet drinking, butt sniffing, tail wagging, and loyal friend, I know his quality
of life will be better here than in Washington. I know he'll be loved and appreciated
and I know too that his impact upon Lyn's life will also be a positive one.
Aren't you going to miss him? Of course I will. You can't live with anyone
or anything for that long without becoming attached to them. Brutus is like
my shadow, always a step behind. He goes nearly everywhere with me. He carries
his own backpack on hiking trips, is never too tired to go out running/biking,
and is always happy to see me. Most humans could take some lessons from him,
it's fun to be around exuberant folks and I can't think of a better word to
describe Brutus.