My family back in Pittsburgh had to put down the 15 year old JRT family dog this afternoon. He was a rescue. My brother and I adopted him as a 4 year old pup for my parents as a Christmas gift (yes, I know you're not supposed to do that, but in this paritcular case it worked out - I don't advocate doing that in general... I know better now; 11 years later).
At 15, Barkley was overweight and had a bit of arthitis, but that was really his only issue... up until last week. Last week, his lymph node under his chin grew and grew in size over the span of a few days. My dad took him to the vet and blood tests have comfirmed that it is lymphoma. He has had so many bad days since last week and the lymph node pressing on his wind pipe, that my parents made the brave decision to put him down... to try and do chemotherapy on a 15 year old dog would be for their benefit, not his. They loved him enough to let him go with dignity.
Of course this is sad, but I'm surprised at how much I'm affected by it right now. I just got off the phone with my parents... Barkley was such a good dog. He fit right into their routine without hardly any issue.
Rest in peace, little friend... Barkley, Barkley-boo, Barkleberry, Honeyboy, Widdle-widdle, Bark-weeze and most of all, Best Buddy Pal! We love you. We hope that wherever you are, there are lots of RC cars to chase, tons of Canine Carry-out Treats, "flashlights" to keep you entertained and banana bread always baking in the oven!
Throughout this post are some of my favorite pictures from last summer when we went to visit. Barkley had a thing for remote control or wind up anything. He is photographed with a remote controlled car that he would bark at, chase and THROW AROUND ;)
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