Anna gave Murray to herself as a gift. Murray was in Muttville’s hospice program, and we thank Anne for giving him a loving home for his final month on this earth. Murray left us May 19, and we miss him dearly. Thanks to Anne for writing his story:
Murray was something of a birthday gift to myself. I went to Muttville on my birthday. It just so happened to fall on a Love a Senior Saturday. I went there with the intention of meeting three other specific dogs. Only one was there. And then I saw a slightly overweight yellow lab. He was very busy humping all the blankets and most of the dog beds, so he did not see me much. He must have been new – he wasn’t even on the white board yet. I have a soft spot for labs. They’re like a puppy trapped in a very large and usually bumbling body. My last lab (also from Muttville) had recently passed away. I felt conflicted. I still carried such sadness in my heart. So I didn’t go home with him that day. Instead I went home and thought about it, debated, imagined the future, wondered if Costco still sold lint rollers, pined away, etc. I thought about him every day. And then finally I asked Sherri if I could overnight him. I was made aware he had a tumor that required medical investigation. I didn’t feel ready to do end-stage stuff so soon again. But he was pretty much everything I suspected – a real ham whose time was chiefly spent devising ways to acquire more food. I watched him go through the trash multiple times in the span of five minutes and I thought, Hey that’s my kind of dog!!! I brought him back to HQ the next day nevertheless. I did tell Sherri I’d provide fospice if the vet determined malignancy. Which turned out to be the case. I picked him back up on Easter Sunday. He was my only dog (I have one forever and one foster) who always needed to be with me all the time. He woke up when I woke up and followed me upstairs while both my chis stayed tucked away in my bed. He’d even wait in the bathroom with me while I was getting ready. He possessed most of the qualities I was looking for in a dog: big lug – check! food motivated – check! uber dependent – check! sweet – check! I knew Murray wouldn’t be around for very long. I even deceived myself into thinking it wouldn’t be that bad since I was just a foster mom. But when his spark started fading and I knew it was time for him, it hurt just as much as ever. He was such a comfort to have. Like the mashed potatoes mom used to make or the way a favorite teddy bear smells. He was familiar and felt like home even though we had just met. And here I am again with a heavy heart. But would I do it again? Oh totally. For one month my life was enriched because of Murray. Probably I wouldn’t be feeling this way if I hadn’t felt the opposite way before. I miss him. I want to hug him one more time. See the wind of his tail wagging make my chi’s squint in the background. Wake up because his advanced bed-hogging is about to make me fall off. I don’t know but maybe in time I will find him again. I was very much blessed to have had him at all.
“’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” – Alfred Lord Tennyson
5/21/14
Are you the proud parent of a Muttville dog? Send us your story! Include three of your favorite photos and send it to success_stories@muttville.org with the subject line 'Success Story'.
