Williams Faithful Dog Will

When our son William was eight years old, he came to me one day and asked if he could have a dog of his own.  I was taken aback as he had never expressed any kind of desire to have one.  He was a boy of few words back then and could not express himself fully.

I explained to him the huge responsibility of having his own dog.  He would have to house break it.  That meant getting up all hours of the night if it needed to potty.  He would have to love it, spend time with it, teach it, and care for it, every day for the rest of its life.

Then I went on about the cost.  If he wanted a dog, he would have to pay for it.  He would have to pay the pound fee and pay to have it fixed.  He would have to buy the food every month, a crate and all the things dogs need.  William said he had been thinking about it for a long time and really wanted one.  I never discourage the children from having pets.  I believe when the children are mature enough to have them, a pet teaches them more than I could, about life, responsibility, love, compassion and loss.

I told him if his dad said yes, he could have one.  We drove by Tim's work and William asked his dad.  His dad went thru the whole speech I had just given him.  Then his dad said the words I did not think he would say.  He said if you have counted the cost, are willing to take on this responsibility and can afford it, you may.  I was amazed to see William had counted the cost and had enough  money.  Back then he used to raise silkie chickens and pigeons and sell them, as he was saving up for a VW bug.  He was frugal and stingy but ready to part with the cost, to buy and have a dog, for a companion.

Next thing I knew we were on our way to the pound.  On the way there he described to me exactly the dog he wanted and what it looked like.  I told him that we never know what will be at the humane society but could keep checking back till he found the dog for him.

When we got to the pound there was cage after cage of large dogs and a large litter of dash-hound puppies.  He slowly looked at every dog and the litter of puppies and said he did not see his dog there.  I tried to steer him toward the tiny dash-hound puppies but he has always been a child that knows his mind and said he did not mind waiting to find his dog.

On our way out he described the kind of dog he wanted to the director.  A very fluffy, smallish dog, with lots of energy.   He left our phone number so she could call us if any dogs came in that looked like it.  As we turned around and were about to leave, a lady came in with a little dog in her arms.  She walked straight up to the director and said she had just adopted this dog earlier this morning...got it home and bathed it and realized she would rather have one of the dash-hound puppies.  She asked if she could exchange it.  The director said yes and took the very fluffy dog from her arms and walked into the back area and put the dog in a kennel.  William didn't take his eyes off that dog and followed the director back.  He asked if he could hold her.  He looked at me and said...This is my dog!  I asked if he was sure and he said yes. 

So we filled out the paper work and went to pay the adoption fee.  I told William to get his wallet out and the director asked...is he paying for this himself.  I said yes and so she said he only had to pay half of  the adoption fee. 

William named his little female puppy Will, after himself!  So funny what kids do.  That week, in the news paper, under the pound dogs of the week, up for adoption, was a picture of Williams puppy and its female litter mate.  So I guess the litter mate had gotten adopted as well as we did not see her there that day.

William asked me to cut the picture out of the news paper and put it in a frame.  It has been displayed in his room every since.  His dog is the one on the right.

William and Will were a perfect match. 

He house broke her on his own.

 
Standing outside all hours of the night to wait for her to potty. 

He showered her with special beds, healthy more expensive food, and lots of love.

They spent just about every day, all day long together.  He did his home schooling with her either on his lap or she was by his feet. 

If he left to go outside, she faithfully would sit at the door till he returned. 

They were the best of friends.

She has not been an inexpensive dog. 

She had a very tender tummy and had to be hospitalized several times because she ate something, she should not have, that fell from the table before William could get to it.  She has had to have several surgeries over the course of her life but William never complained. 

He just paid for it, loved on her and took care of her and in return, she was so loving, playful and loyal.

I enjoyed grooming her.

I always wanted to do a traditional Schnauzer cut on her but William had his own ideas every time.  He wanted her beard, ear hair and tail hair long and silky.  He liked the hair on the legs left longer too, sometimes shaved into poodle pom poms in the summer months.  

Reading together.

Good company while building with legos.

About a year ago his dog started to have no appetite and would get sick on her food.  We have had lots of blood work and tests done over the last year to no avail.  Always sent home with an appetite stimulant and advice on what to feed her.  Her weight kept slowly dropping.  William started cooking for her as that is all she would eat.  On September 7th we once again took Will in to the vets office as she was not doing well.  This time, what the vet told us, was such a shock and so unexpected.  That Williams dog, Will, had a huge tumor in her abdomen attached to many vital organs and it was inoperable.  We were told she had maybe days to a few weeks to live.  It was very sad news for me but even harder to see my tender hearted William bare the news.    

One of the hardest things to deal with in life is loss but grief is the worst.  To love deeply and not hold anything back and then bare the loss of that love physically here on earth, heart aching pain.  There is no easy way to navigate it.  No easy way to get thru it.  No easy way to bare it.  We were not created originally to feel sorrow.  It was a perfect creation and world till sin entered into it.  At that point everything changed.  So loss hurts.

Today Williams dog died.  I praise God that he had the gift of loving such a wonderful dog.  I am so happy he has all those years of happy memories as he grew up with her in his life.

The day he found out she was so sick.

I am also so grateful that God gave William 50 more days, from the time of diagnosis, with her, to spoil and love on her, as her body failed.  He gently and lovingly has cooked for her five times a day so she could eat smaller meals more often.  He has carried her out to potty and back into the house.  He has given her countless baths and done lots of laundry as her systems have failed.  He has taken those days and just sat with her on his lap enjoy her and helping her die.  Today, he and his Papa dug a whole in the earth to place her body.  What a hard thing.  She was worth it.  She was a great dog and will be missed so much.

Thank you God in heaven for Williams dog Will, for the 10 wonderful years she faithfully was his companion and friend.