Conan

Hiding from the vacuum cleaner



Conan at 3 months old


“But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you;
    let the birds tell you what’s going on.
Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics.
    Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories.
Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree
    that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand—
Every living soul, yes,
    every breathing creature?"  Job 12:7-10

Looking back on 2017, there are many exciting, happy, and memorable moments to reflect on.  I have to say the hardest was saying good by to our Chocolate Lab, Conan.

My love of labs goes way back, before I could even walk. My grandparents had a black lab named Nick. I am told that he was a gentle dog.  He would let me wallow around on him, pull his tail and in my own way, love on him without complaint on his part of any kind.

Me at 9 months with Nick

If I believed in reincarnation, I would have to say Nick came back into my life as Conan. Even as a puppy, Conan had the soul of an old man.  Those hazel green eyes of his would look so intently into mine with an unspoken understanding of the love we had for each other. When we picked him up at the breeder’s, it was love at first sight.

I have so many stories of the things he got into as a puppy, the couch he destroyed, numerous pairs of shoes, and doors that still have his teeth marks in them to this day. Two of my favorite memories of him are of how smart he was and the funniest thing he did.

We had a springer spaniel named Booger we got the same weekend we got Conan, so they were ‘brothers’. Booger tried so hard to be the Alpha male in the house. Every time the two of them would come in from outside, Booger had to be first. He would immediately turn around and jump on Conan (twice his size) and attack him, pulling on his ears, lips and anything else he could get ahold of. I know this irritated Conan to no end, but he was never mean to Booger, he would just put his head down and keep walking. One particular time, Booger ran through the open door, in his usual manner he spun around and waited for his big brother to walk in and be his ‘punching bag’ of sorts. This time however, Conan had a plan. On his way to the door, he picked up a rawhide that had been previously left outside. As he came toward the door, he never stopped walking, he just lowered his head and dropped the rawhide at the same instant that Booger pounced. When Booger heard the chew toy hit the ground, his ADHD kicked into full swing and just like that, he was all over the rawhide and Conan walked peacefully and calmly into the house. It was a win-win for both of them, but genius on Conan’s part.

The funniest mischief Conan ever got into was funny but expensive. I had been paid $80.00 cash, all twenty dollar bills for some items I sold. It was late, and we were in a hurry to go grab a bite of dinner. I left the money laying on the coffee table and we scurried out the door. Conan was much older now, and had long since past his chewing on everything stage. Food was free game if it were left out, but other items were safe by this point in his life, or so I thought.  When we returned home, about 30 minutes later, there were only two twenty dollar bills, and they both had seen better days. I knew right away where the other $40.00 was. Let’s just say, the a dog’s digestive system does wonders at removing ink from legal tender.

Conan was my best friend, my cuddle bug, my sofa partner, my protector, and he held a part of my heart in his. That is why when he began to show signs of not feeling well, I knew in the depths of my soul that it was coming close to the end of our time together, here on earth anyway.  I took him to the vet a few days later, and she confirmed what I feared the most, it was most likely cancer.

Have you ever loved someone so much, that you had to make very difficult decisions because it was the right thing to do, rather than what you wanted to do? I loved him too much to see him suffer. As much as I wanted to keep him near to me, and in my arms, I knew that I had to let him go, in peace and be pain free.

As I sat on the floor next to him in the vet’s office, I stroked him, cried, and told him how much I loved him. I thanked him for being the best boy ever, and for loving me unconditionally and totally selflessly. My heart will forever have his paw print stamped in the very center. I was blessed to have been his human mom and for him to be my furbaby.