We Lost Truman Today

We lost a member of the family today as Truman, our sheltie-collie mix, died unexpectedly at the emergency vet's office. He started throwing up yesterday and as the day passed got progressively worse. Jo, knowing something was wrong, decided to take him to the emergency animal hospital since our normal vet's office was closed.

They put him on an IV and he rested quietly through the night. An x-ray showed that he had some type of possible growth in his stomach but the doctor wanted to keep him overnight and take another look in the morning. The next day's follow up showed the growth getting smaller so the vet was not as concerned. Then this afternoon about 2PM he collapsed and passed on without much warning about an hour before we were scheduled to pick him up. We take some comfort in the fact that he did not suffer with illness for a long time as he seemed perfectly fine yesterday morning.

Truman was a wonderful dog that Jo rescued through the SPCA when, we think, he was about 2-3 years old. He was part of our family for 10 years. We named him Truman after Jo's High School in Independence, Missouri, which had been named after President Harry S. Truman. He needed lots of love and special attention and Jo gave that to him in abundance. It took some time but he adjusted to his new life and was a happy dog. He loved Jo so much that he would always do his dance of joy whenever she came home, even if she was only gone for a few minutes.

I'll always remember him for the nose nudges that he would give when he just wanted to be petted or let outside. He'd literally lift your arm on his head with that nose of his. He was a companion to me as I worked in my home office. He had a gentle spirit and only got upset when he spied other dogs during our walks, which he loved to take. I think it was because he was so protective of Jo. He did not care much for the doorbell either. He was often very animated and sometimes after taking a drink, when he thought you weren't watching, would stick his butt up in the air and run his mouth around on the carpet.

Our days at home would always end with Jo giving Truman a big snuggly hug and whispering a pray into his ear. She did the same today when we went to the animal hospital to hold him and say goodbye one last time.

Truman Newman, our buddy, will be missed but never forgotten.