Family, Photo-A-Day

Saying Goodbye to The General

12 Comments

Photo-A-Day #2064

Tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to The General. The General joined our family a few short months. My sister Tara cared for The General in a very good way. He lived out his last days with us enjoying a nice big yard to explore. Good food to eat and the incredible care from Tara. She is a special sort of person who has taken in a few dogs over the years to help foster them through their later years.

This was the first dog that went to doggy heaven that we have had to explain to Eva. Eva is such a sensitive child. We’ve been taking her with us to visit houses and she has asked us if we will be bringing all manner of things with us. Lately she has been asking if the cats will be coming with us. She is very concerned about leaving them behind. No we won’t be leaving them behind ‘I assure her.

As a Dad I really want to give Eva the chance to say goodbye to The General but also want to soften the blow for her. Eva is so inquisitive and sensitive that I forget and over explain things. So I probably over told her why the General is going to go to Heaven. She was so sad, she was going to miss him. She enjoyed seeing him in the backyard but at the same time never did get too close to him. He was unsteady on his feet and we were afraid he’d accidentally knock her over. So that might have contributed to her not getting too close.

So tonight Allison, Eva and I went with Tara to say goodbye to The General. Eva was sad but she got the chance to say goodbye. I’m sure she will ask us about The General and why he went to doggy heaven. I think we did an okay job of not hiding this from her nor lying about what happened.

I think one of the greatest moments from this experience was Eva crying and trying to talk then stopping, completely composing herself and saying “I’m sorry, I was crying and cold not talk right.” It is things like that that often make me forget that she is only a three year old. She has these amazing moments of self awareness we just sit there stunned.

What is Drew Shooting with?
Model: NIKON D80
ISO: 100
Exposure: 1/640 sec
Aperture: 5.0
Focal Length: 32mm
Flash Used: No

This is my own personal DSLR camera that I bought half of. My mother-In-Law bought the other half as an investment of great photos of her grandchildren. With over 26,000 photos of Eva and counting, I’d say she got great ROI on the investment. The opinions about them are 100% mine.

How Does Drew Protect His Photos?
Model: GoFlex™ Ultra-portable Drive
Interface USB 2.0 or 3.0
Capacity: 320GB – 1.5TB
Automatic Backup Software:PC & Mac:
Weight (typical): 150g (.33 lb)
Software: Pre–loaded backup software with encryption

Disclosure: I received a number of Seagate devices including the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1 TB USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive, GoFlex Home, GoFlex TV and GoFlex Net. I’ll be talking about these devices in the coming months. The opinions about the devices are 100% mine.

12 thoughts on “Saying Goodbye to The General”

    1. Tricia,

      Thank you. We’ve only had The General around for a while and he’s been sick for all of it. I think we’ve all known that he wasn’t long for the world but helping him have a better life before he left it was the goal.

  3. Tara is a special sort. Not many people would do what she does for the dogs she fosters. After watching him for the past seven months and being there as he pasted,”The General” was a very appropriate name. He was a tough old dog. My beautiful grand daughter is also a very special sort.

    1. Dad,

      So true. Tara and The General are and were very special. He was lucky to have Tara in his life there at the end. We are all lucky to see the way Tara’s heart is open to these animals. Eva’s certainly learning a lot from Tara’s example.

  4. Awwww That’s to sad. We had a black lab we had to say good bye to about 2 yrs. ago, and we had her for 16 yrs. it almost broke my heart. Just the other day a friend of ours said there was a family that has to give up their lab because she is jealous of their baby. So, we’re going to meet her on Monday. I’m very excited, and I truly think it’s fate. I’m sorry for your loss, but there may be another General out there for you just as maybe there’s another Cleo I’ll be meeting on Monday. My heart really goes out to you, and what a very special person your sister is.

    1. XmasDolly,

      Thank you so much. I hope that things work out with the lab that will enter your life on Monday. that would be truly wonderful.

  5. I’m sure it was difficult for all of you to say goodbye. When Eva sometimes shows a grownup side of herself at moments like that it is amazing. I know we feel the same when we have those moments with Moyra and Amelie.

    1. Deborah,

      It was pretty tough for my Dad and Tara. As well as for Eva. I got choked up when I explained to Eva what was happening.

  6. I’m so sorry-that is terribly sad. Tara and your family are so good to take in those animals. You are such kind people. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope things get better.

    1. Mo,

      Thank you. Tara is really the one who did so much. She cared for him and cleaned him and kept him comfortable. It is sad but he’s certainly much better off now. No more pain.

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