It's too damn soon for this to happen again.

[ChadAmberg]

Just about three years ago I had to write this post. https://www.ar-15.co/threads/58294-T...really-bad-day

Now, I have to do one similar, and I'm having a really tough time. But I have to write up his story.

After Streak died, a few months later, we were looking for a new pup. My wife found a dog on the Pueblo HS site and fell in love with him from the pics. He was a Corgi-Border Collie mix, mostly black, with white paws, a white tip to his long tail, and one brown and one blue eye. I said lets go for it, she called, only to find out he was taken already. Disappointed, but we kept on looking. About two months later, she was looking on the Colorado Cell Dog page, and sure enough, there he was. They were the ones to take him out of Humane Society, they trained him in the prison program, and now he was up for adoption. We immediately signed up, went down to Canon City. When they brought him in, he went right up to my wife and snuggled in to her arms. Of course it was a done deal. They had no idea how old he was or what his history was, he was picked up as a stray. The best they could figure was he was 3-5 years old, that would make him 6-8 now.

Brody loved his walks, he loved chasing the rabbits we have in the neighborhood now. Never to really catch 'em, just to make them run was all he really wanted. He would jump up on a raised planter in our back yard, and watch everything going on over the fence for hours. He was quiet and attentive, he just loved watching the world go by. There's a doggie day care ranch up in Black Forest he'd go to once in a while. There, they called him the Sheriff, since he would break up fights between the other dogs. He loved to roll on his back and get the belly rubs. We're not sure of his history, since when he joined us he didn't really know how to play with toys, but he figured it out a bit, and would choose something from his basket carefully and play with it for a while. He was quite a smart guy, being that mix between the border collie, and pretty stubborn, from his corgi half. Everyone who saw him commented on how much of a good looking dog he was.

A few months ago he started losing his balance. Ear infections were diagnosed, meds were given, but while the infections went away, he balance issues remained. He was also not eating much, and did he ever love to eat. Specialists were consulted. CAT scan showed nothing. Dermatologist next, since they deal with the ear canal and ear drums. She put the scope in his ear that was most likely the issue and said "Hmm... that's not what I expected to see at all. His ears look perfect, no damage." Next up, a pet neurologist. He did all the checks, and sure enough, brain stem issue, most likely cancer, all the other options no better. Didn't matter, prednisone was the treatment for everything. We got a thirty day supply. That was thirty one days ago.

Yesterday was his last pill, it didn't matter, it wasn't helping much. He could barely control his legs enough to stand up anymore, let alone walk without falling over hard. Always that confusion, he couldn't figure out why. Mentally he was still there, his personality remained. That's what made it so damn hard yesterday when it was time. His look of I'm not old yet, I should have years and years more damnit, I just don't understand what the hell is going on, I want to go for a long walk with you and chase some more bunnies.

I'm sorry my little buddy, we didn't even have three years together.