our dog.

Post by **sgt.null** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 9:30 pm

Sonny Roy Torres Wood
November 4, 2000 - August 10, 2015

Our precious Sonny passed away today at 14 years, 9 months, and 6 days. None of us wanted this day to happen, but all three of us - Sonny, Dennis his Daddy) and I (his Mommy) - knew it needed to happen. He had begun falling. His back legs no longer wanted to carry his weight, and they would give out on him. He'd have accidents and you could see the shame in his eyes, sorry for the problem he created. If it was just the accidents, we would have gladly have put up with the difficult situation. But, he had already lost his hearing, at least some of his sight and he was in pain. And he was afraid. It does not matter if you are talking humans or animals, old age is cruel.

It's hard to believe that we had him for almost fifteen years. He wasn't always a joy, but just like with any dear loved one, you forgot the bad times and focused on the good. And he was good. He was such a good boy. He loved us so much. And we loved him so very much.

We adopted him December 15, 2000. He was so tiny he fit in his Daddy's palm. We wanted to suckle on his Daddy's earlobes. Over time, he developed his own little personality. He was by far the smartest dog we've ever known, learning many words and phrases. There words we had to spell out because he recognized them. He could tell time. He knew when I would be home for lunch and when I would come home at the end of the day. He would leave the bedroom to go wait for me in the living room. Once when he was sick, he had to be given medicine for a cough. After he took that medicine he would get a treat. Once he was well, he would fake a cough just to get the treat! He loved car rides, trips to the beach and the trails at the local parks. He loved to smell things, especially new strange smells at the park or the beach.

His favorite place to go was any drive-through restaurant where he would sit straight and tall and be on his best behavior (unless a cat ran across the parking lot). He loved to sit outside in the sunshine. When we had our picnic table, he'd lay on top of it. We would watch him put his nose in the air to smell the breeze. Later, when we no longer had the table, he'd lay in the grass and just enjoy the beautiful day. He loved watching the children who lived behind us play in their yard.

Sonny knew how to enjoy life. He saw it in beautiful days and children. Dreary days, not so much. He did not know what to make of the 2004 Christmas Eve snowstorm. He held his head up to the sky trying to figure what the snow was and where it was coming from. During Hurricane Ike he sat up with me, wide awake as Ike rattled our doors and windows. While Daddy slept like a log.

He loved us so very much. And he showed it. He would rake his paw across you to say "Pay attention to me." Or he would give you kisses. He would follow us all over the house. I will miss him laying on the couch next to me, his head on my leg. I will miss seeing him curled up in bed next to his Daddy or riding in the truck on Daddy's lap, his head out the window. Or laying under Daddy's desk in the office. I will miss him forcing us to go to bed with him, late at night. And how impatient he would get if we did not go to bed right away. I will miss him dragging his empty food dish or water bowl across the kitchen floor to let us know he needed something. And he needed it now!

He was so happy to see us, wagging his little nub of a tail. He saw me through two surgeries and three for his Daddy. he was so patient, laying with us as we healed. We would watch over us through illness and heartbreak.

He was our baby. Our good boy. Our protector. Our solace when life dealt us some pretty rough blows. He never judged when I cried. He always, without fail, took our side. He protected me on many, many late (or wee hour) truck rides. And was beside me every night his Daddy was away. He saved us form possums (he was our "Awesome Possum Killer"), other dogs, cats, ducks, squirrels and roosters.

He rally wasn't our dog. He was so much more than that. He was pure love. We loved him so very much.

Post by **sgt.null** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 9:35 pm

picture did not work. can anyone help, the pic is from the album here on the Watch.

Post by **Sorus** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 9:52 pm

So sorry, Sarge and Julie.

Post by **sgt.null** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:03 pm

thank you Sorus.

Post by **lucimay** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:14 am

omgosh i'm SO sorry to hear of sonny's passing!!!
i know you two must be heartbroken.
lighting a candle for sonny now to send him to the light with love.
don't worry, sarge and julie, i know you will see him again.

Post by **Creator** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 2:20 am

So sorry Sarge and Julie

Our dogs are our children and our best friends rolled into one. It is heartbreaking when we have to say goodbye.

Post by **Avatar** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 4:56 am

Sad news Sarge. Thinking of you guys.

--A

Website · Post by **Iolanthe** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 7:10 am

So sorry that Sonny has gone Sarge. He did very well to live 15 years, the best 15 years of his life!

Post by **Linna Heartbooger** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 12:24 pm

to sarge and julie!

Post by **sgt.null** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 10:30 am

thank you everyone. did well today, until reading this.

really need to get out of the house. yesterday when leaving work I grabbed some food for him, not realizing it for a moment. Julie told me she made sure to leave room for him on the bed.

Post by **Cagliostro** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 5:22 pm

So sorry. Pet deaths are so gutting for me I haven't allowed myself another pet for a while. I think the worst part is that you keep expecting them to be in the same places. Everyone I have know that has died has never lived in house with me, and something tells me that would be more upsetting, but for the most part pets have been the hardest on me.

Post by **Sorus** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 8:36 pm

Cagliostro wrote: I think the worst part is that you keep expecting them to be in the same places.

That's very true. I had one cat who was so perpetually underfoot that it took about three months for me to fully acknowledge that I'd never trip over him again. I think the very worst for me was dreaming that he was still alive and then waking up to find that it was just a dream. Focus on the good memories. Give yourself time to grieve.

Post by **Cagliostro** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:21 pm

Sorus wrote:I think the very worst for me was dreaming that he was still alive and then waking up to find that it was just a dream.

I call that the "reverse nightmare": a dream that makes you happy until you wake up and find something sucks. I often get them when I've been dumped in a relationship.

I had two beloved ferrets both died within 6 months of each other. I learned to walk very gingerly around, and when they died, I kept catching myself, say, stepping on something under a blanket, and that instinct that "oh god...I just stepped on one of them" kicks in for a sec until the "wham" of sadness takes hold.

Post by **peter** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 6:39 am

A good dog, in a good home who lived from puppyhood to old age in the same loving environment: that is as good as it gets and enough to bring a smile to the face of anyone who has worked in the animal rescue business. Good dog owners should have dogs - they need you.

Post by **deer of the dawn** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 11:08 am

Sorry, Sarge. I have buried too many good dogs and cats, so I feel your pain.

Post by **MsMary** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 4:08 pm

So sorry to hear the sad news.

Post by **aliantha** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 4:45 am

Post by **sgt.null** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 5:00 am

thank you everyone. still in mourning. we need a day away to get outside of it.

Post by **Obi-Wan Nihilo** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:41 am

Sorry to hear about this, sarge. Godspeed Sonny

Post by **sgt.null** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 4:38 pm

thank you Doc.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

our dog.

our dog.