The Reason we do what we do....
"Mike" the dog Carroll November 27th, 1990 to February 22nd, 2004
In February of 1990 my husband and I wanted a puppy for our son who was only 4 months old. We began searching the news-paper and found a local "back-yard" breeder that was offering puppies for sale for a reasonable price. My husband grew up with labs and I with much smaller dogs so we mutually agreed that we wanted a real dog and the Labrador was our choice. We made an appointment and visited the breeder and instantly fell in love with the largest male of the litter soon to be named "Mike". We realized now that he actually picked us as we placed our son on the floor and "Mike" walked over to Joey licked him on the face and laid in his lap. We had some minor health issues with Mike in the beginning as he was infested with worms but being young and in love with our puppy we did everything we had to, to take care of him. Mike spent the next years hunting with my husband and spending his summers on the Eastern Shore in Maryland. He was the instant favorite to family and friends as he had such a lovable personality and always did his rounds each evening making sure everyone was ok and in bed. As I brought home my daughter when he was four and then my youngest son when he was eight he took all the changes with the slightest bit of hesitation and just continued to man our house.
In May of 1998, Mike woke up one morning and as he went out for his morning walk we soon realized something was wrong. He came up lame and after blood work and additional testing we realized he had lyme disease. We treated him as advised but didn't realize at the time that this was the beginning of watching Mike deteriorate for years. The lyme's took it's toll on Mike but, the deterioration of his hips is what was making him very unhappy. Over the course of the next several years Mike went from one pain medication to another. We were trying to assist him and make his everyday a little better. By 2003 his hips were deteriorating so bad that he began muscle atrophy and over the process of several emergencies we brought him back from a bells palsy and even kidney failure. All during this time Mike was slowly began loosing his vision so he would bark quite a bit. This was so we would come see him and assure himself that someone was around him. Even when we purchased Molly (our Chocolate Female) ; Mike was beginning to deteriorate and couldn't play as he use to. Molly would run laps around him and he would just watch her and bark when he had enough. She mastered the pull my tail game.....
On February 22nd, 2004 we woke up to find Mike, who slept by our side every night even though we carried him up the stairs, laying in our living room with the sound of a brewing coffee pot coming from his lungs. We realized then that his heart was failing and congestive heart failure had taken over. I went to church that day just praying that he would be gone by the time I got home so we didn't have to make the awful choice of putting him down. But, when I arrived home he was still staring at me and wagging his tail this time just a little slower. My husband and I made the decision at that time to put Mike down and I allowed each of my kids the chance to say good-bye to him. My youngest who was six at the time didn't understand why he had to say good-bye as "We will see him again in heaven right Mom". I personally could not say good-bye as I am not good at that. I was at peace watching him walk away and getting into my husbands truck for the last time, knowing that this is what truly made him happy. Mike was put to sleep that day and buried at our grandfather's farm.
My peace of mind is knowing that he is now walking with my fathers each day for the normal walk he loved to take...no longer striving for breath or taking his time.