In Memory of Leon

Our good dog Leon was put down yesterday. He was 12 years old and his hips got the best of him. We ultimately decided that his quality of life was declining. I took him for a long walk yesterday and gave him his favorite treat, a vanilla ice cream cone. Our Pet Loss At Home mobile vet, Dr. Karen Twyning, DVM, came to our house to euthanize Leon so he could be in the comfort of our own home. Below is a poem that I think speaks volumes of how amazing a dog can really be.
In Memory of Leon
The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground where the wintery winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the sores and wounds that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

If misfortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.

Leon was brought to me by Santa in 1997 and went to Heaven on July 8, 2009.