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I just wanted to share my journal entry for today with all of you. It helps me to get rid of some heavy baggage and helps you to know me a little better. I will just give you excerpts, and you can read the full entry here: http://www.plwp.org/journal_view_peg.asp Peggy Journal excerpt: Today, July 12, 2005, we put our pet pug of nearly 15 years to sleep. Euthanasia . . . we made the choice. He is blind with one eye ruptured, nearly totally deaf, has horrible arthritis, and probably many other ailments of which we're not aware. He gasps for air upon any exertion, and I am sure would be content to just sleep all day for another 4-5 years. But in dog years he is 98 - his body is slowly deteriorating, and the family would not have him suffer for anything. We have all cried as much for his loss as much as we would any other member of the family. For those who don't have "family" pets, I can never explain how we are feeling. I reminisce about his adoption into our family. My son had graduated from high school and his one request was for a puppy. We scanned the paper's classified ads for the "perfect" dog at the perfect price. My husband wanted a Boston terrier - those cute little black and white dogs with the stubby tail. His parents had one, and that was his request. On the other hand, I recalled when growing up that our neighbors had a Chinese pug - anything but cute! But I remembered how unique that breed of dog was, and there just above the ad for the Boston terriers was one for a pug. I told the kids about it, but I didn't share this with my husband. Our last warning as the three kids and I drove away was my husband yelling, "Don't take the checkbook - we want to think about this." We decided to look at the pug first. The ad read, "Chinese pug puppy - parents on the premises - $150." That was a bargain! But remember, we didn't take the checkbook. We drove up to the trailer park lot and saw a young man outside. This was before cell phones, so we hadn't called ahead or anything. "We'd like to see the puppy you have for sale." The slender man quickly went into the trailer and returned with the pup and his very pregnant wife. It was love at first sight! His little wrinkled forehead and curled up tail were irresistible! * * * * * Yes, we have good memories of Festus. Our walls and photo albums have Festus displayed just like any other family member. And the grandkids loved him, too. But they were beginning to beat up on him because he got in their way and couldn't move fast enough to escape their path, oblivious to that fact. And the pain of not seeing him every morning, not hearing him grunt, snort and sputter each day, or yelping whenever I went outside without him will take some getting used to, but I know that he is better off. I don't believe in human euthanasia, but I better understand that once this earthly body has worn out or is riddled with illness to the point that one's quality of life is so limited, then a prayer for that person to go on to another dimension is not a bad thought. Once, my son asked me if animals had a soul. Many years ago I told him "no;" but today I cannot imagine Festus being anywhere but in "doggie heaven." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn