Saying a final farewell to a fur baby is so difficult
Monday was going to be a long, hard day for Sera and her family.
She would be spending her last weekend here with her mom, dad and bouncy little brother, Gunner, a rescue pup.
Deep in her heart Sera knew what was about to happen, as did Gunner, who was unusually quiet and gentle near her.
Sera’s pleading eyes had implored her mom to help her — to make her OK again.
Sera was a beautiful, 12-year-old
Great Dane who had stunned veterinarians with her health and energy at an age that big dogs don’t typically get to see. She was a smart girl and loved to bounce around with Gunner, her playmate, in their backyard.
Sera’s mom, Jenny Chatterton, is my daughter and her dad, Nick Chatterton, is my son-law. They bought Sera as a puppy in 2008, eight years before the humans got together. She was the runt of a gorgeous litter and she had a distinguishing feature that set her apart from her siblings.
When Nick arrived at the house where the puppies were born, Sera looked up at Nick to take her home.
She had one perky ear and one adorable floppy ear.
“We are just loving on our girl,” Jenny told me Sunday night. “Sera had the best dinner ever — but couldn’t get up to eat so we brought it to her.”
Unfortunately, the life span of our precious pets — compared to us humans — is mismatched.
Sera had a good life. To make her more comfortable, Nick made her food and water dishes that did not sit on the floor — they were mounted on a wooden pole and raised high enough so her long neck wouldn’t be strained. Her bed was a comfy vintage sofa. After the last snowstorm, Nick used his snow blower to carve her a path through the yard. When she was playing, you could see her little head bobbin’ around.
This time was the hardest they had faced as a family — especially for Nick, who had cared for Sera her entire life. He was not ready to let her go, not ready for the grieving.
They already had made the appointment with the vet, a Blue Jay veterinarian who understood their pain.
Earlier in the week, Jenny texted me that Sera had the earliest possible Monday appointment “to go to heaven, over the Rainbow Bridge.” Their hearts were “sooo heavy and sad” she told me. “Our girl can no longer stand or move during the day — she is ready.”
Jenny had quoted The Rainbow Bridge poem, which gives comfort to those who have lost a special friend. The poem promises the critter will cross over the Rainbow Bridge, just this side of Heaven, where there are meadows and hills for special friends to run and play.”
At 2 p.m. they were at the vet’s office in Blue Jay. And at 2:25 p.m. Monday, Sera walked across the Rainbow Bridge.
Returning home was even harder.
At the last moment of her happy 12+ years. Nick said, “Thank you for choosing me.”
We will always remember Sera with glad hearts and think of her up there bouncing through the meadows near the Rainbow Bridge.