I’ll start with explaining irony, since the word is often and incorrectly applied. It’s not ironic that the last post that I published focused on our dog Luke, and this post has to do with our other dog Casper. George Carlin taught me about irony. Mr. Carlin said that irony is “a state of affairs that is the reverse of what was to be expected; a result opposite to and in mockery of the appropriate result.” So, writing a post about Casper after writing one about Luke would seem to be the most “un-ironic” thing for me to do. So we will call this a coincidence. And opposed to a happy coincidence, this one is not.
About 14 years ago, I picked out Luke from the local SPCA. He was shy and timid in the kennel where I first encountered him. In the chainlink box attached to the side of the building, he was perfectly docile and sweet. I thought “he is perfect.” Then I got him home…and realized that I had made one of the worst decisions of my life. The dog was crazy! But happy-crazy. Crazy-exuberant. Crazy-peppy. Crazy-uncontrollable. And he tore up everything: shoes, books, bedsheets, you name it. Maybe he was bored, maybe he was too smart, but maybe, just maybe, he was lonely. Enter Casper.
One of my co-workers fostered dogs. I mentioned to her that I was looking for another, and she told me that she had the perfect dog. A white shepherd who was calm and low-maintenance. We arranged to meet at a local dog park. As soon as Luke saw Casper, he was all over him, licking Casper’s ears, knocking his body against Casper, barking excitedly. Casper was a less than excited, fearful and overwhelmed by Luke’s big personality and energy. But I told my co-worker that I would take Casper for a trial-run and see how the two got along.
For the first few day, Casper tried to keep a wide berth. Regardless of how hard Casper tried, Luke was always in his face. Casper, much more chilled-out than Luke, would lie down and try to relax, and Luke would walk over and lick Casper all over his head. I said “Luke, leave him alone” so many times. But I knew that Luke was only hearing “Luke, blah blah blah blah.” Dogs don’t speak human. After a few more days, Casper seemed to become resigned to Luke’s constant attention. And then a few more days went by, and I discovered that Casper appeared to be keeping an eye on Luke, even following him around the house sometimes. So I told my co-worker that I would keep Casper. My floored friends and family questioned me on why I got another dog. They were well-acquainted with Luke and all his craziness. I just told them that Casper was Luke’s dog, not mine. And that’s how it lasted for 14 years.
It was a wild ride. Luke never got over his overwhelming need to give Casper a lot of attention. Casper would just lie there, while Luke licked his ears, waiting for Luke to get distracted. Ken and I called them the “boys.” And the boys would escape from the backyard, more than once. Although it was terrifying, we (or the neighbors) would always find them running around the area, but always Luke with Casper following closely behind. The boys would hang out with me on the back porch in the evenings. They would follow Ken and me throughout the house, choosing to lie down in the same room with one of us. Luke would make the decision, but Casper followed suit.
Casper had his distinct personality though. He would quietly walked over to Ken or me while we were seated to get in a quick pat on the head, before Luke jealously realized and pushed Casper out of the way. Since he was such a beta-dog, we had to coax him to eat, telling him to, and then leave the room before he would do so. He would stand at the edge of the hall, staring at Ken in the late evening. Ken would finally say, “Okay, let’s go to bed.” And Casper would lead the way to the bedroom.
Over the past couple of weeks, he slept more and more, and ate less and less. Concerned, we took him to the veterinarian. Through scans, the docs discovered masses in his liver, damage to his kidneys, and extra fluid in his body. Feeling guilty, we asked if these problems could have been discovered earlier. The doc said that we would have only had known if we had requested a preventative scan, which is not standard. Blood tests would not have shown anything.
We brought Casper home for one more night. He was more frail than ever, and had trouble walking to the water bowl without Ken keeping his hind legs stable. We made the decision to put him to sleep, and called for the appointment the next morning. I stayed with Casper until his last breath, as I have stayed with my other pets. His light slowly was extinguished. He went out as I had always know him. Quietly.
I don’t know what is in a dog’s mind, but Luke is not acting like he is upset. He has been staying on the porch with me longer, as if he knows that Casper is not in the house anymore. He is not searching for Casper. But he still sleeps on his own dog bed, instead of Casper’s. Maybe, in his dog mind, he understands that he did everything that he could do to make his own dog’s life quite special.
Until next time,
Jase
the right pills 