Category: Ruby

ruby tuesday — 2008 – 2024

whbeebe3 Comments
Age 7 — 2015

We sent Ruby yesterday to join her companion Max. Max had left us back in July 2015. She could no longer stand, let alone walk, and slept nearly the entire time over the weekend and Monday. Yet she still recognized when Annie was getting fed and would raise her head, letting us know she wanted some food as well. We lavished her with peanut butter laced with her final medications, as well as little treats. And lots of rubs and kisses.

And she still smiled that sweet Ruby smile when she was awake.

Ruby Tuesday and Dreamboat Annie — 2015

Ruby leaves behind her companion Annie, who it shocks me to realize is nine years old, and will be ten next Valentine’s Day.

Max and Ruby Tuesday — 2011

No tribute to little Ruby would be complete without a photo of her with her companion Max. Ruby was always friendly with her companions, both canine and feline, but Max was her first, and a bit more special to her than all the others I think. She always remembered Max, and if I made the mistake of mentioning his name in her presence, she would always look up as if expecting him to re-appear. Dogs never forget, especially female Labs. I saw the same behavior with Katie when Rhett left us.

While we still have a vibrant Annie, and six healthy cats, there is a Ruby-sized hole in the household at the moment. She will be missed, as they have all been.

ruby’s last day at home

whbeebe2 Comments

I knew this day was coming. I didn’t know when. Today is that day. Ruby barely went on a walk last night, and we didn’t cover any distance at all, just out to the front, down the street to the house next door and back again. That was truly Ruby’s last walk in her long life. At least she continued to walk right up to the end.

This morning I had to use a special aid to lift her up and get her outside. She barely walked back inside from the back yard, and only ate about half of her morning food. She was still interested enough in her morning treats, so she ate both of those. After that she lay down on the kitchen floor and fell to sleep. Her sleeping is peaceful, for which I am very thankful.

Tomorrow we make our last trip to the vet and we’ll put her to her final sleep.

I wanted it to end this way because she’s been the best of companions for over 16 years, having lived with us through so many tumultuous times. She is also my first “digital photography” dog in which I have a record of her from birth to death. She might also be the end of the line when it comes to having Labs in this household. My wife started with Rhett back in 1979, and we’ve had a pair of Labs in this household ever since, a good 45 years. The line was unbroken until now. Annie, the Labradoodle, will turn ten next St. Valentine’s day. Whether we’ll get another dog to be a companion for her, I can’t say.

I’ve contacted one of the vet technicians, a very good friend of ours at our vet, and so they know and are prepared. And now so am I.

I love you Ruby, and I’ll miss you so much when you’re gone.