Goodbye Moose

Today has been a very rough day at both the Williams and Nicpon households. This morning we had to make the very difficult decision to say goodbye to our beloved Moose. Although I am overcome with sadness, I know that this was the best thing for him. His health had started to decline over the last few months, and over the last 2 weeks had become worse. It was obvious that he was suffering and that no amount of care would turn his health around, as he lost a lot of weight and started having frequent seizures.

When I moved to Las Vegas more than 13 years ago, I didn’t know anyone. It was a tough transition for me and I was very lonely. Shortly before Christmas in 2004, I got a Dog. He was an adorable and energetic Jack Russell Terrier who I named Moose (he had a giant head on his tiny body, so it was fitting!). He became my sidekick and buddy, going to work with me at a local insurance office each day, until I changed jobs in early 2005. 

Moose loved the holidays – he was born to be a Christmas dog, and we hung a stocking for him every year. He would check it every day, just to be sure that there was nothing in it yet. On Christmas morning, he would be so excited! All of the squeakers would be out of those toys in less than 5 minutes.

He was the best dog, so smart and loving. He would sleep with me all day if I wanted him to and he was always by my side on the couch, snuggled between me and the arm of the couch. He was spoiled rotten – my Dad would make Moose his own pancakes when we had them, even though I was always asking him not to give the dogs table food. Any time we would be on the telephone, Moose felt that meant he deserved a treat, and he would yip and yap until he got one. 

I have so many wonderful memories of my time with Moose. One night he was begging me for some wine and I jokingly would tell him he could have some if he gave me a high five. It didn’t take him long to figure this out and the next time I said it, he quickly stuck his paw up and did it! True to my word, I gave him a VERY small sip, which made him sneeze. Another night, I was cooking dinner and heard Moose at his water bowl, slurping away. I thought to myself “boy, he must be thirsty,” just as I looked in the living room to see him lapping at my full beer on the table instead! He absolutely LOVED baths. You couldn’t even say the word “bath” or he would go jump in the tub and wait. 

He had so many nicknames – Bob Barker, Darryl Strawberry (for the time he ate only the ripe strawberries we had been growing in a planter), Moosleburt Humperdink, Mooselini. He was so full of personality and I am so lucky to have enjoyed so many years with him.

As he got older, I kept saying how I wanted to get a 2nd dog – not only to try and help keep Moose young, but to hopefully make this transition easier when the time came. About 4 years ago, we added Scout to our family and they became fast friends. I’m afraid that Scout has known this day was coming for awhile and I am very sad that he’s had to say goodbye to his brother. I hope he doesn’t take it too badly, now that he’ll be the only dog. He’ll definitely get some extra love and attention over the next few days.

It’s never easy to make a decision like this, but it was obvious that he has been in a great deal of pain and wouldn’t be able to recover. The most humane thing to do was to relieve his pain and send him to heaven, over the rainbow bridge. This is by far the worst part of being a dog owner, but I know it’s for the best. The Doctor reassured us that  this was the right thing to do and that it seemed he was suffering kidney failure. We’re having him cremated and will keep him in a small urn in our library with a little bit of a memorial and I will keep him in my heart forever.

RIP Moose, sleep well in doggie heaven. We hope you know how much your family loved you! Enjoy endless frosty paws up there!