My Dog Holly's Death

I regret to say that yesterday, on March 14, 2008, my dog Holly was put to sleep at a very young age as a result of an accident she got into while she was on her way to the vet's for a routine checkup.

From April 1997 to February 2007, I had a really great dog named Ginger. Unfortunately, her health was in decline, and she soon suffered massive bleeding attacks. Eventually, we had to put her to sleep. Losing her was very sad because she had been in our family for such a long time, and she was a really nice dog. Things did not seem the same without her for a while.

In December, I happened to come across some free puppies that were offered. They happened to be part Beagle and part Labrador Retriever. Concidentally, I had been talking about how I liked the appearance of Beagles, so it was funny that I found some puppies that were both Beagle and Labrador Retriever (the breed we were initially looking for). The dogs weren't exactly what we were looking for, but I thought it would be a great opportunity to jump on. Free dogs that were part Beagle and part Lab. What a strange coincidence! We were initially looking for a yellow lab, but eventually, we decided that one of these dogs would be nice.

I picked out one of the dogs, and we took her home. Her original name was Ashley, but with time, we eventually renamed her to Holly. We had no idea how much of a nightmare she would turn out to be. Upon arriving home, the dog whined and bayed very loudly. It was extremely annoying, and it seemed no matter what we did to try to get her to calm down, she wouldn't stop. We assumed that she was just scared and nervous that she was in a new place, but by the next day, she was still doing it as loudly and frequently as ever. By the third day, I had gotten so fed up with her that I almost wanted to take her back to her old owners. She wasn't even the type of dog we were initially looking for anyway. Unfortunately, I didn't want to "discriminate" against a dog. I felt that every dog needed a loving home. I realize that eventually, someone would come along and give her a good home, but the point is, if someone else could put up with her constant screeching and baying, we could too. Fortunately, things did get better on the third day. She did seem to whine a little less, but she was still pretty bad about it. About a month later, she rarely screeched to the extent that she did when we first got her. I was glad that I decided to keep her.

Indeed, she really was a nice dog. She was quite different from Ginger, though. Ginger, for one thing, was a little more particular about the things she ate, whereas Holly would eat just about anything - even feces! Holly also seemed a lot more stubborn than Ginger and was determined to chew up whatever she wanted. This was one of the things we didn't like about Holly. She also got into the garbage a lot and spread everything out. She was also bad at nipping at peoples' clothes, which got to be very annoying. Also for a while, she was not housebroken and would have accidents in the house. With time, though, she got much better about it and did not have accidents as often. But with the exception of the negative things, Holly was a good dog. I liked how she seemed really excited to see me when I came home. She'd jump up on me and made cute sounds. Also, she was a cute, small puppy and how she acted feminine. Sometimes, she would put her front paws together while sitting upright, and it looked really cute. What I thought was also cute was that she leaned against the wall often. It looked adorable! She also had a cute face and looked innocent and meek. Sometimes, though, she was a troublemaker, and in order to avoid "punishment," she ran away and had a sneaky expression on her face while doing so. Even so, I think she was a great dog.

Everything went well until just yesterday. Holly had broken her leg - apparently from falling - and after taking her to the emergency clinic, it was determined that it would cost thousands of dollars to have her treated. Her broken leg was serious and was above the growth plate. As much as we hated to do it, we just couldn't afford spending money to treat Holly. We decided, as much as it was painful to us, to have her euthanized. Just before she was euthanized, I saw her one last time. I didn't even see her face-to-face, but I stroked her back and then left. Upon returning home, I was really sad about what had happened and wished that the treatment for Holly wouldn't be so expensive. She was really a great dog, and it was a shame to cut a young life so short. She was cute, innocent, and adorable. After thinking about an adorable picture of Holly, I realized that what had happened was extremely saddening. I was really sad, and like Ginger's death, things haven't been the same without Holly.

I would just like to say that I really miss Holly and wish that nothing bad had happened to her. I wish that she hadn't been put to sleep and that she would remain perfectly healthy and could live many long years. Holly is in a better place now, hopefully where she will be very happy and never again feel pain. I love you, Holly. May you rest in peace.