Ode to a stinky dog

I am not a pet person.  Well, that's not totally true.  I like low maintenance pets.  Like fish or a tortoise.  I like cat's too, but I'm allergic to them.  I am not a dog person.  I never have been, and I don't think I ever will be.  I like other peoples dogs.  It's kind of like other peoples kids.  You go over, play with them for awhile, rile them all up and then go home.  I should say that I don't want the responsibility of owning a dog.

However, my wonderful honey-pie, came with a dog.  It's like a step-child, only furry, on four legs and without the baggage.  I almost didn't date Rob because he had a dog.  I then thought that it probably wouldn't last, so I thought why not.  Go figure.  It's now almost five years later, with a kid to boot.  Bailey is a pug.  He's so ugly he's cute, the stinky little thing.  The pooch and I have come to an understanding.  He doesn't pee on the floor on my side of the bed, and I make sure he's taken care of.  We've had our ups and downs, but we tolerate each other fairly well. 

Bailey had had tumors on and off for the past 8 years.  The latest one is about the size of a large biscuit on his shoulder.  A few weeks ago it, for a lack of a better word, burst.  I've managed to jerry rig a bandage with a couple of socks.  Luckily Rob has quite the collection of socks.  Bailey is really good during the bandage changes, but you can tell he's in a lot of pain.  Rob finally decided it's time to put Bailey down.  He made an appointment for Friday.  Rob finally realized it was time, when he took Bailey outside over this past weekend.  When Bailey was done with his business, he laid down in the snow.  Bailey, the pooch who doesn't like to be either cold or wet, decided that a small snow bank was a nice place to plunk himself.  That spoke volumes. 

It's funny, now that Bailey's time with us is coming to an end, I'm feeling the loss.  No, this does not mean that I want another dog.  It's just when you have something that's been part of your life for the past 4 1/2 years, you are going to miss it when it's gone.  This is definitely the right decision.  All I can smell when I walk into the house is blood and something unhealthy.  To bring Bailey outside is a process, to say the least.  You can tell that he is in a lot of pain.  I must say, that through all of this, Bailey has been wonderful with Pookie.  With all of the poking and prodding that Pookie does, Bailey just looks at him and when he's had enough, he moves.  He's had a wonderful 12 years with Rob and now it's time to go to the big farm on the flip side. 

  Goodbye pooch, you stinky dog, you'll be missed.