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  • Approved for CNN

    • Click to view CoachDB1's profile
    Posted November 28, 2012 by
    CoachDB1
    Location
    Haverhill, Massachusetts
    Assignment
    Assignment
    This iReport is part of an assignment:
    Loving and losing a dog: Your tributes

    More iReports you should see

    "My bestest boy"

    By CoachDB1  |  Posted November 28, 2012  |  Haverhill, Massachusetts
     

    CNN PRODUCER NOTE     CoachDB1 says she can 'absolutely relate' to singer Fiona Apple's decision to cancel her concerts for her dog. 'Right around the time that Dickens was diagnosed, I had started looking for another job. I made a decision to stay where I was because I knew I could flex my schedule or take time off as necessary if he needed it. I would not have been able to forgive myself if I wasn't there for him. I had to return the love and devotion that he had given me.'
    - dsashin, CNN iReport producer

    I always told people that Dickens chose me & not vice versa. I had my eye on another pup in the litter but was distracted by a persistent tugging at my pants leg. I looked down to find a gangly mess that was all floppy ears, tail & paws. When I sat down on the floor, this pup climbed into my lap and into my heart where he lives today.

    He was named Dickens because he was whelped on Christmas Day & "A Christmas Carol" is one of my favorite stories. He loved getting his presents on Christmas morning, sticking his blocky head into the gift bags & removing the tissue paper one piece at a time until he reached the bag of treats or - HEAVEN! - a stuffed toy to disembowel in less than 10 minutes.

    He was mischievous & an inveterate food thief who had a taste for pizza "bones", jalapenos & pepper jack cheese. He once ran away from me at Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA - running down the entire length of the beach & back in pure canine joyous abandon. In puppyhood, he destroyed half of my baseball cap collection & I walked around with no insoles in my shoes for 2 years. He was also the most loving soul I have ever met, my boon companion whether we were being couch potatoes together or going away for a few days.

    Dickens lived the last several years with a number of medical problems including a stroke in his spine & Addison's disease. In July, 2010, I was told he had advanced kidney disease & that the outlook wasn't good. Part of me hoped that he would pass away peacefully in his sleep so I wouldn't have to make the hardest decision of my life. Did I mention he was stubborn? My bestest boy hung in there to get through his 11th birthday and about 2 weeks later, I sat on the floor by his side, whispering "Thank you, buddy" into his ear as he took his last breath.

    I have his ashes. They will be buried with me.

    Erinhill's Christmas Carol "Dickens" 12/25/99-1/11/11
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