Saying Good Bye to Oz

Today was one of the hardest days of my life ... I had to take our sweet, sweet dog, Oz, to be put to sleep.

He had been having health issues for the past year or so, but nothing too serious or uncomfortable for him.  He developed a tumor on the top of his head some time ago so we took him to the vet.  At that time she was very honest with us and explained that it was either a tumor or some sort of arthritis in his head/neck.  She said they could operate to determine which it was, but ultimately there wasn't anything that could be done.  I appreciated her honesty and respect her immensely for that.

As time passed, the tumor became visibly worse.  In looked like Oz had a softball on the left size of his skull.  So bad so, that eventually the right size of his head started to cave in.  It was at that point that his health became much worse - he seemed to lose his balance, didn't always have a sense of equilibrium (walking into walls at times, walking sideways at others) and losing control of his bowels and, eventually he was not able to keep anything down.  It was at that point that we knew it was time to let him go.

Graden said it best in his farewell to Oz Facebook post:

One of the most heart wrenching moments was when Dayne expressed her worries that Oz would be alone in Heaven; that he didn't know anyone there.  I told her that he would make friends ... Oz never knew a stranger, after all!

Cleaning the house but can't get myself to clean this particular spot. It is where Oz would look out the window at the front door ... wiping his snot all over. Gross, yet adorable. It reminds me of his genuine excitement to see us and his unconditional love for his family.

RIP Sweet Ozzie ... until we meet again!

Love, Your Humans  xoxo