Key Experience: This past summer I had to put down my childhood dog. This was the very first time in my life that I had encountered, and experienced a death first hand. When I was in the 4th grade, my family brought home Lulu, an English Mastiff who grew to be a 160 pound gentle giant. She was the laziest most loving dog with a ferocious bark that wouldn’t hurt a fly. She lived to be eleven years old and had a short but tough battle with cancer up until her death. Watching her struggle was one of the most devastating things I have experienced, but putting her down was the most humane and right things to do in the given situation. Because of her size and state at the time, the nurse in charge of the operation had to come to our house, which definitely made the process easier and less stressful for my dog. I vividly remember that morning, as my entire family gathered around her bed in tears as the nurse injected her with an overdose of pain medication. Watching her life leave her body as I stood two feet away will always be an unshakable memory engrained in my head. It felt as if a piece of me was lost that day. This was also one of first times I had seen my father tear up and cry, which put an emphasis on the tone of the situation. With this being said, my whole family cried together that morning, as we were all there for each other. My entire identity is structured around my parents and my brothers and sister.
While this was definitely one of the hardest and saddest moments in my life, I now look back on all of the amazing memories my dog gifted my family with. Throughout the eleven years I had with my dog, I built a friendship that will never be broken. This moment taught me to never take the time we have with the ones we love for granted, as all of our time is limited.
Key Words:
Childhood
Family
Love
Grief
Loss
Struggle
Identity
Life
Death
Dog