03/01/2023
TODAY MY HEART WAS TAKEN FROM ME
They say love comes when you least expect it. So does grief. The king of my castle, my protector, the four-legged face of Pit Bulls & Parolees, was taken from me today.
I rushed Lucky to the vet this morning after he threw up his food and then laid down and couldn't get up and was breathing pretty heavily. I got as far as the grocery store (about 10 miles from my house) when I got a feeling and pulled over and leaned over the back seat. Lucky was gone. He had passed away in my car and right then and there my life fell apart. I sat in the parking lot and screamed like a wild animal in pain because at that point, that's what I was.
Through a waterfall of tears, I continued on to the vet where they performed a necropsy (autopsy) and found several tumors attached to various main organs in Lucky's body. They were situated in locations that were not detectable thru an x-ray, etc. and even if spotted earlier were inoperable. One of them had burst and Lucky had bled out in the back seat of my Hummer. Four tumors and that dog never showed any weakness until today.
As many of you know and have felt yourselves, the pain is crippling. I can't even breathe and my heart wants to burst out of my chest. I had always thought Lucky would die from old age and together we would hate the world until we both passed. Because that's how we rolled. He didn't like anything human and I backed him up on that decision. Losing him so suddenly and not being able to say goodbye has destroyed me.
It was 11 years ago that he "picked me". We had just rescued him out of the shelter after he had been saved by them while spotted drowning in a canal. Upon bringing him back to our facility, he tried to eat everyone and was so aggressive that I had to remove him for everyone's safety and brought him to my house where he still wanted to eat me as well.
I had pushed his crate to my back door and let him out (that was the routine so I didn't have to touch him) and laid back down with a migraine. Apparently, I hadn't closed the back door well enough, and he pushed it open, snuck in and I was awakened to him licking my migraine away. And from that moment on, we were inseparable.
Our 11 years together is something that I will never be able to replace nor will I ever take on another dog to do so. He is a legend and I will forever keep him on the throne in my mind. He will always be my king for life.
To my ride or die, may we take many more road trips together in the afterlife. Until then, my broken heart will only beat for you.