Confederate Colonel

Radar - April 11, 1999 - October 22, 2008

This evening, I laid to rest a dear friend - my dog, “Radar”. For nine years, this beautiful German Shepherd kept me company and was vigilent in defense of “her” home. Granted, it was mostly defending against rogue squirrels and the occasional cat that dared step foot in her domain, but that still counts.

Radar had developed cancer in her front leg at the elbow joint. The vet operated on it a few months back, but after surgery he informed me of the diagnosis and said that it would reappear. It did, and very soon. We did our best to make sure that her last days were as comfortable as possible, but it became increasingly difficult for her to walk, the pain was obvious, and the open sore quickly got worse.

I gave a lot of thought as to how to end her suffering. I considered taking her to the vet and go the lethal injection route, but a good friend - the woman from whom I purchased Radar as a pup, strongly recommended that a bullet to the head was far more humane. The decision was made. My wife suggested that I get someone else to handle the task, but it was my dog and my responsibility. We went into the back corner of the yard. After a few minutes of gently petting and scratching her head, the .22 hollow point traveled the two inches from the muzzle to her brain. She dropped instantly and her pain and suffering was ended.

She was a good dog and will be deeply missed.

Radar
April 11, 1999 - October 22, 2008

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 9:25 pm and is filed under Confederate Colonel, The Southern Gentleman. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.