Roxi

A tribute to Roxi: a gorgeous opinionated 9 year old female German Shepherd, a Greenhill rescue. She was regal and dignified in her last hour, despite struggling for breath and being unable to rise from the kitchen floor. The owner had called to see if I could come put her down; she wouldn't last the night. I gave Roxi some pain relief and sedation under her skin, and talked to her owner while the medications worked. Slowly, Roxi relaxed and leaned back against mom, occasionally opening her eyes and finding her owner for reassurance. Once she seemed to be napping, I raised a vein with a tourniquet and injected the fatal blue solution. Roxi held on longer than she needed to, or should have, and her mom and I both whispered to her that it was okay for her to move on.

I believe that loyal working dogs like shepherds often resist the euthanasia due to their owner's anguish. Even after they pass on physically, sometimes their presence is still so palpable that I am sure they are watching and waiting to ensure their owner will be okay. It feels protective, not frightening or sad. I try to get the owner to talk about all the bad things the dogs did as pups, to get them to laugh through the tears. When the dog finally leaves, their absence is striking.

And so we laughed about Roxi, her stubborn and very vocal nature, her sensitive stomach, and about how she overcame her abused and fearful past to live a wonderful and secure life with her new owner. We marveled that she and her 11 year old canine sister just last week were racing around the yard and wrestling: two old ladies refusing to act their age. We laughed, and Roxi moved on.

She will be missed.