When It Rains, It Pours

The thing I've never understood about this cliche saying is that sometimes it really is just a trickle rather than a massive thunder storm. When it's actually raining that is. In terms of life, love and death though, it all seems to come at once. These are (or were rather) my two pups, both of which have died in the past three months from cancer. Talk about unfair! I can't figure out in my head how there are such bad people alive and roaming the earth, yet our two innocent babies lives were taken away. There are times when God's plan is just too hard to see. I hope one day I'll understand why things happen the way they do.
This is Bentley. The definition of puppy-dog eyes was created just for him, I'm sure! He was a clumsy, oaf of a dog. I remember him standing tall beside the dinner table, his height just perfect enough that his eyes would peer clear across at everything he was missing out on. His nose would start to sniff and he'd just stare at you until your heart melted. Then a scrap would come his way and he'd be so stoked! We also called him Linus sometimes. Rarely would you see this dog without a blanket, towel or some other kind of linen hanging from his mouth, getting towed around the entire house.
He was the second of our two friends to go, this one I was there for. He seemed to be getting gradually sicker until his last few days. His health spiralled downhill in a very short time. Thursday, July 23 we brought him into town. He was so excited for a car ride while we all cringed knowing his fate. Dad, Mum, Rae and I all went in the sterile little room with him. The vet took Bentley away to get an IV started in his arm. When she brought him back, she laid him on a blanket, one that would typically be carried by him rather than carrying him. She put the first needle in, a sedative. His vibrant eyes drooped and mine instantly overflowed. The second needle, an anasthetic. It hit him quick and his body fell, so tired and weak. My tears were bottomless by this point. Then the third and most dreaded needle, the killer. His eyes closed, his body relaxed and we knew it was over. It was so hard to see the life literally slip from his face, yet at the same time, months of pain and suffering left with him. A truly bittersweet experience. Deep down inside I believe that Bentley would've been strong enough to defeat his illness, but with the loss of our other precious pup only months earlier, he was too sad to go on.

That brings me to our girl, Lexie. Smart as a whip, more loyal than any other creature I've encountered and overall, just an extremely beautiful dog. Ask anyone who has ever spent any amount of time in our home, how she would sneak up to your chair and nudge her nose under your hand just to get a pet. She was so incredibly gentle too. Whether we tested her on eating corn on the cob without annihilating the entire cob or teaching her to take a treat from a baby's hand, she used the most tender grasp. I can distinctly remember getting ready to take her for walks when we still lived in the city. We'd get her collar and leash on, which would rile her right up! While you're still getting your shoes and jacket on, she'd have the leash drooped from her mouth, eagerly pacing around the house. Looking back through old pictures at her animated face makes me realize how smart she was. The looks she would give you let you know that she wanted so bad to tell you something, if only she could say it!

Lexie's health also deteriorated very quickly. Once we found out she didn't have much time left I went to Salmon Arm to visit, not knowing if that would be my last. Unfortunately, it was. I called my Mum the evening of April 16, 2009 to check up and see if Lexie was making any progress at all. With her choked up response of "No. No she isn't well at all," I knew. The only way to describe what I did was to say that I sobbed like a baby. I felt like I couldn't even breathe I was crying so hard. I've never had to deal with cancer before so this was my first emotional ordeal with the disease. There will never, ever be a dog in this world like Lexie again.