My thought was to remove Barney's picture from my blog after the one year anniversary of his passing, January 13. I have changed my mind after talking to my friend Cindy last week. I don't know Cindy very well but I think we have a lot in common, and today her story convinced me to keep Barney's picture on my blog.
She had to euthanize her 12 year old dog last week. I know just how she was feeling. It's such a difficult thing to do, even when you know it is best for everyone. The look in a dog's eyes can melt your heart, and even when you know they're hurting it is difficult.
Cindy knew what she had to do days before she actually took her dog to the vet, but she started to think about Barney, and wanted to look at him. So she went to my blog, which she hadn't been to in a few weeks, just to look at his picture. That's when I decided to keep his picture up. She got strength from looking at his picture, and thinking about what I had gone through with him, how strong he was in the last few years, even as his body was giving out. I thought to myself, "Barney's life is inspirational." I will keep his picture up to remind myself and others that as long as there is quality of life, life is worth living.
I found Barney through an adoption program from the Amanda Foundation in Century City around 1990. It must have been fate. I parked in an area that I normally didn't park in, and the adoption area was set up near the escalator I had to take to my car. It was 4pm in the afternoon, they had about 4 dogs left, and they were closing up. The remaining dogs would be euthanized, I was told. I looked at Barney, and immediately fell in love. At the time I had just adopted a 7 week old Akita mix, who was a handful. I called Ron to ask how he felt about another dog. He said, "Absolutely no." With that I signed the papers to take Barney anyway, paid the money to have him neutered, and made plans to pick him up in a few days. When I came home without the dog Ron was so happy. I had to figure out what to do next, because in a few days the dog would show up at the house.
Three days later I picked up Barney and took him to my parents home. They had always been dog lovers and had been without a pet for several years, and I thought that maybe they would take him. My father took one look at Barney and said he was too ugly! Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Well, to make a long story short, I brought Barney home, left for Europe two days later, and when I came back, Ron was in love. Through the next 18 years Barney gave us endless hours of entertainment, love, and even heartache. I don't regret any of the medical procedures we did at huge expense to prolong his life. When he was 15 years old he had disc surgery and rehab for $6,000 that prolonged his life by 4 years.
So after this long rant you will continue to see Barney's picture on my blog. I smile every time I see it, so until I have another somebody with which to replace his picture, that's what you'll get. Thanks, Cindy for talking to me and making me realize how much a picture can mean.
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