Dear Metro,
You, dear dog, are a casualty of recent events, an uprising, a high stakes hostile take-over. You are being held hostage in a house full of tail pulling, horsey riding, collar dragging, sticky-handed children, screaming children, that tortured you to madness. Teased you with crackers dropped and retrieved from your not-so-quick grasp, cheese sticks and chicken weanies bouncing to the floor and whisked away again and smells on faces, smeared on cheeks and arms, tummies and clothes. These kids are always eating. Everything has driven you nuts. You stand and look at me, resentful and pissed off-then pee on the furniture, you ask for outs all night long, multiple times, standing and staring restless and searching for that old lazy life. The dog’s life you knew, counted on and settled into until the kid take-over. It’s gone Metro. And today, so are you. I am really sorry dear old dog.But we can’t do this anymore.
love, your family
Today you and I saw a man walking an old beagle like Metro. I said, maybe that guys would want Metro. You said, in response, I miss Roxie. (the horse that we gave away a few months ago) You want all to stay the same, too. Long for it. Don’t we all want our story to read the same each time we open the book. We want to write the new parts ourselves. You want all of us to live at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s, Roxie back in her stall, Mozie still alive and Metro here to be the designated bad dog (to give yourself some reprieve maybe?) and the baby chicks staying babies forever. Change is inevitable. Loss, too. You said in the car this morning. I never want to die. I will brush my teeth and eat good food and make my heart keep pumping blood all my life. You, my dear, will live to be old as trees. Good, you say. But not the kind that fall in storms, right? Right, of course.
Back to Metro. After a night of four ups and downs, not including Grandpa’s turn. Its time. SPCA this week. I hope someone will take you in, dear doggie. I can’t do it anymore. I asked and asked and tried drugs. Now I am finished, so tired I can barely see. And mommy only has Liza for 2 hours, so I have to nap. I cannot sustain you and all of the rest of us anymore. Good-bye. Maybe Friday we will have a good bye ceremony for Metro. I wish it was to take him to a home where he could be a dog, a prince, a sleeping on a pad settled and content old fellow. Leaving anxieties here. Healthy, eats only 3/4 coup of low fat dog kibble a day and is the most non-aggressive animal I have ever known.Be kind to him, he is so loyal. 
Sad week for us. I gotta keep helping kids with this. Ideas? Help us, and Georgia….
Nancy, Such a hard time for you all. But I am relieved that this stress is going to be gone from your life (to be filled with guilt, no doubt). Metro is such a lucky dog. I remember when you rescued him. Now you are rescuing him from a situation that doesn’t work for him either. Hopefully someone will see his cute face and fall in love like you did. Hard and sad times. I sure do feel for you.
I wonder if Orien writing a note to whoever adopts him might work. I do have that book “Dog Heaven” at home and can give it to you, but I wonder if with Anne’s talk of her “impending death” that helping Metro find a new home is a better way to deal with this with Orien.
He could write about what Metro likes and what he loves about Metro. And maybe making a photo book of Metro including his last walk with you all for Orien to keep and look at. I remember very well our first dog, Prince Hickory-Dickory Dock Cooke, a boxer. I was in kindergarten when we had him, but when we moved when I went into first grade, we had to give him away because it was too much for my mom with a 6, 5, and 3 year old to take care of this dog in a postage stamp sized backyard. My grandpa took him for a while but had to give him to a friend of his who had time and space. I vividly remember the pictures of Prince playng with his new owners–and you know I don’t remember a lot of my childhood, but I remember this. With love and hugs, Caroline
lovely ideas. really. Thank you so much. I too can benefit from a tribute to metro book. Thank you dear friend. I have 2 minutes and when i get 5 I will call you. love you so much
I’ll make myself available to you all day Friday, if that will help. I’d be glad to deliver him to the SPCA if you’d rather say good-bye at home which would be easier on the kids and you too. My thoughts are with you, as always.