DJ the dog

DJ, the dog, Buitenwerf
born on 7/7/1997
Ryan's buddy his whole life
crossed the rainbow bridge 3/10/2010

DJ has been Ryan's dog for almost 13 years. He kindly welcomed me into the brick home when Ryan and I got married. DJ thanked me when Scott was born and I kicked those pesky cats out of the house. He quickly realized that another human addition to the house meant that DJ was once again pushed to the side a little. Even then, he was Ryan's faithful dog. When Bethany came along, it was yet another human invading his space. In a few short years DJ had gone from top dog sleeping at his master's bed side to being kicked out in the hall to sleep. He managed to put up with the kids because he was still Ryan's buddy and still went everywhere Ryan went in the vet truck.

We have watched DJ's healthy slowly decline this past few months. It has been hard to watch, and annoying to clean up. This morning one sad veterinarian made the decision to put his buddy, his dog, down. DJ while sleeping/dreaming kicks his feet and runs and we've joked a lot this past year that he's trying to cross the rainbow bridge. This morning, DJ did just that.

Ryan told me that he put his dog down this morning. As much as I despised dealing with DJ's anxiety and elderly issues, he's the family dog. I was sad for Ryan's decision but it did seem like it was time for that decision to be made. At least he was put down by someone who loved him!