Duchess
By Megan
Death hits you in many ways. When a loved one dies, you are reminded that life is precious. When we hear about a shooting where someone died, you are reminded that the person shot could have been you, and you take your life a little more seriously. And when you are in a near death situation, you try and completely revamp your “new life”. Well, death recently hit me in none of these ways.
It all started when my Mom and I were coming home from the nail salon. We saw a stray dog, just walking down the street. I told my Mom to stop so we could give her some water. I got out of the car, and started calling to the dog, who we figured out was a girl. Soon, other people joined in our chase. During this time, the dog was running through traffic, and I was thinking that if I were to witness somebody running over this dog, I would break down right there. But the chase continued as I ran through traffic. Thankfully, a Good Samaritan and his son began to help us. We chased the dog into the back of the library in an enclosed area.
We had managed to flag down a cop, and when he got to the scene, he called the Humane Society. During this time, we had managed to semi-cage the dog with a few patio chairs and two moving boxes. My mom gave her some water, and some residents who lived nearby brought out more water.
During this time, my Mom’s friend, Diane, who is a devoted dog lover, was waiting at our house for us. My Mom called her, and she came right away. In the meantime, we further inspected the dog. Her nails were very overgrown, and her teeth were much rotted. She was not spayed, and her jaw was off to the side. My Mom’s friend arrived, and during this time, the cop had left and told us to call him if we needed anything.
Shortly after the cop left, the man and his son had gone to the store to get two beef sticks for the obviously underfed dog. Diane fed the dog the two beef sticks and coaxed her into a box so we could take her to the vet.
We arrived at the vet, and they took her into a room right away. After further examination, we found out that she had no microchip to identify where she came from. After that, the first thing the vet tech did was clip her nails. The dog, who we promptly named Duchess, since British people are rumored to have bad teeth, was warming up to us fast. The next thing they did was examine her rotting teeth. It was decided that the next day she would come to have all of her teeth extracted. So after a clean bill of health, Duchess was free to come home with us.
Diane kept Duchess at her house with her three other dogs. According to Diane, Duchess had a wonderful night, and got along great with the other dogs.
The next morning, I was praying for Duchess that everything would go okay with her surgery. Well, I got a text from my Mom telling me to come upstairs. I came upstairs, thinking she just wanted to show me a commercial or something. I walked upstairs, and she told me that during the surgery that the vets had found a tumor in Duchess’s left jaw area. This was causing the deformed jaw. She told me Diane was going to put Duchess down. I told her I wanted to go. She asked if I really wanted to do that to myself. I told her I wanted to go again. She said fine, but that she was going to go with me.
We arrived at the vet, and we found Diane with Duchess in one of the rooms. She was already crying, so as we took our last pictures, we said goodbye. We laid Duchess down on the table to pet her for the last few minutes. My Mom stepped back for a minute, and Duchess jumped off of the table and landed on her leg and back. Diane asked that the vet come in right away, so that Duchess didn’t have to suffer anymore. The vet came in, and we laid Duchess on the table again. Diane petted her as the vet gave her the shot. I was sad, but still happy that Duchess wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. After that was done, we all said goodbye to Duchess, the dog who had come into our lives for only a short while, but that had given us a new lease on what it means to do a good deed. We pet her for a few minutes after she had passed to Rainbow Bridge, and we left.
Duchess gave me hope. She showed me that good people still do exist. She showed me not to judge others based on appearances, even though at first I thought Duchess was just another street dog. She gave me an example of sweetness and love. Duchess will always be remembered in my heart.
By Megan
Death hits you in many ways. When a loved one dies, you are reminded that life is precious. When we hear about a shooting where someone died, you are reminded that the person shot could have been you, and you take your life a little more seriously. And when you are in a near death situation, you try and completely revamp your “new life”. Well, death recently hit me in none of these ways.
It all started when my Mom and I were coming home from the nail salon. We saw a stray dog, just walking down the street. I told my Mom to stop so we could give her some water. I got out of the car, and started calling to the dog, who we figured out was a girl. Soon, other people joined in our chase. During this time, the dog was running through traffic, and I was thinking that if I were to witness somebody running over this dog, I would break down right there. But the chase continued as I ran through traffic. Thankfully, a Good Samaritan and his son began to help us. We chased the dog into the back of the library in an enclosed area.
We had managed to flag down a cop, and when he got to the scene, he called the Humane Society. During this time, we had managed to semi-cage the dog with a few patio chairs and two moving boxes. My mom gave her some water, and some residents who lived nearby brought out more water.
During this time, my Mom’s friend, Diane, who is a devoted dog lover, was waiting at our house for us. My Mom called her, and she came right away. In the meantime, we further inspected the dog. Her nails were very overgrown, and her teeth were much rotted. She was not spayed, and her jaw was off to the side. My Mom’s friend arrived, and during this time, the cop had left and told us to call him if we needed anything.
Shortly after the cop left, the man and his son had gone to the store to get two beef sticks for the obviously underfed dog. Diane fed the dog the two beef sticks and coaxed her into a box so we could take her to the vet.
We arrived at the vet, and they took her into a room right away. After further examination, we found out that she had no microchip to identify where she came from. After that, the first thing the vet tech did was clip her nails. The dog, who we promptly named Duchess, since British people are rumored to have bad teeth, was warming up to us fast. The next thing they did was examine her rotting teeth. It was decided that the next day she would come to have all of her teeth extracted. So after a clean bill of health, Duchess was free to come home with us.
Diane kept Duchess at her house with her three other dogs. According to Diane, Duchess had a wonderful night, and got along great with the other dogs.
The next morning, I was praying for Duchess that everything would go okay with her surgery. Well, I got a text from my Mom telling me to come upstairs. I came upstairs, thinking she just wanted to show me a commercial or something. I walked upstairs, and she told me that during the surgery that the vets had found a tumor in Duchess’s left jaw area. This was causing the deformed jaw. She told me Diane was going to put Duchess down. I told her I wanted to go. She asked if I really wanted to do that to myself. I told her I wanted to go again. She said fine, but that she was going to go with me.
We arrived at the vet, and we found Diane with Duchess in one of the rooms. She was already crying, so as we took our last pictures, we said goodbye. We laid Duchess down on the table to pet her for the last few minutes. My Mom stepped back for a minute, and Duchess jumped off of the table and landed on her leg and back. Diane asked that the vet come in right away, so that Duchess didn’t have to suffer anymore. The vet came in, and we laid Duchess on the table again. Diane petted her as the vet gave her the shot. I was sad, but still happy that Duchess wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. After that was done, we all said goodbye to Duchess, the dog who had come into our lives for only a short while, but that had given us a new lease on what it means to do a good deed. We pet her for a few minutes after she had passed to Rainbow Bridge, and we left.
Duchess gave me hope. She showed me that good people still do exist. She showed me not to judge others based on appearances, even though at first I thought Duchess was just another street dog. She gave me an example of sweetness and love. Duchess will always be remembered in my heart.