Today I will be putting my best friend to sleep. He will be buried in my friend John’s dog cemetery along with the other dogs that he has lost.

It is never an easy decision to put a dog down but I  know it is the right decision in this case. He has had a wonderful life and he doesn’t deserve to suffer. He needs a peaceful passing. It will be easy for him but very hard for me. He has been a member of my family for the last 12 years and my only roommate for the last 5.

Taylor is the sweetest of the 4 dogs that I have had.  He has a beautiful soul,  loving, and kind but with a spark of mischief. That spark of mischief has come out all through his life in different ways.  Knocking down garbage cans was one of his favorites and more recently, pulling all clothing, blankets, pillows and anything else he could find onto the floor.

I would often go out with everything fairly tidy to come home and find the floor covered with all sorts of stuff. Most of the time this was harmless, but a couple of times it led to near disaster.

He once  knocked my brand new camera off the kitchen table onto the floor. Fortunately, the flash caught the brunt of it and the camera was fine. The only damage to the flash is that the connectors to the camera are not as secure. He had also knocked my Mac book to the floor a couple of times but fortunately  it was not damaged. Needless to say, I have been much more careful in making sure that he can’t reach expensive equipment.

Taylor has had diabetes for the last 2 years and I had been able to control his sugar levels until recently. The decision about whether to do further testing and interventions was a hard one when he started to go downhill, but in the end, his age was the determining factor. Taylor is 13.5 and he has had a good life.  I could  spend the money and do whatever is necessary to extend his life but I know it is not the right thing for him. If he were 5 or 10 it would be different. I know it is time for him to go. He will be in doggie heaven with Holly, Duffy and Mac.

But I will miss him greatly.