5.13.2006

Goodbye City Life! and Goodbye Dear Trotsky

It is 2:56 am, and the movers will be here tomorrow at 9 am. I hope they won't be too fast because we are not totally packed, and we both have to go to bed. We can barely stand up. Tricia and Karen and Mom and BC all helped today. We ran out of bubble wrap, and have to get more in the morning. And though everything is well organized and ready to be boxed, a lot of stuff down in the basement still needs to be boxed. Yikes.

And on a really sad note, poor Trotsky is really doing badly. Whatever is growing inside of his head is pushing his eye out of its socket. He is on anti-inflams and pain pills, and seems to not be in pain. We've decided to put him down on Monday afternoon after our house closing. It just doesn't do anything good for him to keep him alive and take him up to Ohio, knowing he is only going to get worse, and that at some point the pills are not going to work. We want him to go while he is still Sir Trots Alot and while he is not in terrible pain. We are both so sad about it, but we keep reminding ourselves of what a great life he has had and all the things he has accomplished in his life. For a dog, he has quite a resume: In 1993 he made it through Obidience Training at the top of his class. In 1999, he successfully decimated an HVAC outside unit by repeatedly peeing on it. In 1996, he was hit by a car on Moreland Avenue, but walked home pretty much unscathed. In 2003, he had to go to a real life doggie ER after digging a giant hole in which he gashed his leg open on some sharp buried crap in our EPA Superfund site of a backyard. In 2000, he slipped into Panther Creek and went down the waterfall while we all watched in horror. In the fall of 2005, we joked that he was barking himself to death... little did we know that it was his last hurrah of doghood. If any of you remember any of Trotsky's other accomplishments that i've forgotten, please let me know!

6 comments:

Curtis said...

It's sad when a loved pet has to be put down. We certainly do get attached don't we?

Good luck with the move!

Anonymous said...

Sam and Steven,

It's Monday afternoon and I am thinking about you guys and Mr. Trotsky. I remember when I first met Trotsky as a little pup. I think, Sam, that you were leaving on DeKalb Ave. when you got him. It is so hard to believe that was 13 years ago. My thoughts are with you. This is really hard but I know in my heart that Mr. Trotsky is going to have a good life in doggie heaven - all the treats, tennis balls and long walks he could ever desire.

Love,

Tricia Thomas

Sam said...

Thanks Trish, and thanks Curtis. Yes, we do get attached, and I won't soon forget Trotsky. Tricia, I know there is something for me to put on his resume from his days with Cagney, but geez i can't think what? Long walks together? Fighting over food? Making fun of sister Eydie?

Sam said...

Thanks Tricia. I know you'll miss Trotsky more than anyone. I still just can't believe he is gone. He never did get that job...

Anonymous said...

I am so sad to hear about Trotsky. It's a hard decision to make when that time comes, but like someone said (roughly) to me when our girl Rosie had to be put to sleep: our job is to take care of them and we need to be there to say "enough" because they can't say it themselves.

I am sorry I missed you guys. I just assumed your time here was harried and it wouldn't have been a proper farewell -- but now I am especially sad I didn't connect to at least give you both a good hug.

Crap, now I am crying about Trotter, Rosie and not least of all, the departure of two people I really love, whom I did not see nearly enough of over the last couple years, which makes me even sadder because life is like that. Shit...

We are planning to visit. Hope it's ok that we are inviting ourselves.

Sam said...

Oh Al, we're sorry we missed you too. And you can come anytime! We'd love to have you guys anytime and often. And we haven't departed, we're just a bit further away now. Those last days were sweaty-faced hell, trust me, you didn't want to see us. The last bit of good time we had was on Sunday sitting around the pool at John & Barb's, it all went exhaustingly downhill from there...

Thanks for your kind words about Trotter. Even after going trough the horror of putting him down, I still feel like it hasn't sunk in. I just can't believe he is gone.

We are loving this little hippy town, and having fun checking it all out. Come on up! We'll be in the new place by July 1.

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