A Sad Day

They picked him up this morning. I didn’t even wave good-buy, but I was sorry to see him go. His time had come. He was getting old; not good for much anymore, and he was becoming unreliable. We had good times together; I remember them fondly. I took him hunting and fishing, but the last couple of years I only took him fishing. It was getting too dangerous to take him out into the field, especially in the cold of November. He was still in pretty good shape but getting rusty around the edges. Being always out in the cold will do that to anyone.

When he was younger, he was a great performer and pulled his weight. I took him to work every day and to the cottage on the weekends. He was dependable and wasn’t that expensive to keep. Strong too for the job he was doing. But now he was showing his age. Once he got going, though, he was okay; in fact, sometimes he was hard to stop.

I didn’t watch him leave. It might have brought a lump to my throat seeing him in that condition, not moving on his own anymore but depending on someone else. Even though it had been difficult, I had to make a decision to let him go. I don’t think he would have lasted much longer and I didn’t want it to happen at home when that day came. This way he’ll be useful. Parts of him might give others an extension of their lifespan. There is always somebody looking for new parts and he had still a few good parts inside him.

The one I had before him didn’t last as long. I had to let him go in 1997 when I got this one. He was young then, not new, but whoever had him before me took good care of him. Even though he wasn’t old in numbers, I wonder how old he was in human years. They say one year in a dog’s life is equivalent to seven human years. Would that be the same in the case of my old friend? It would make him 140 years old. Not bad for a 1995 GMC Van.