reese

i lost my 18 year old shih tzu yesterday. i’ve had him since i was in middle school and now i’m an older adult. i had a rough childhood so he and i found a lot of comfort in taking naps on my bed or going outside to feel the breeze. before the last couple of days, he was in almost perfect health-running, playing, eating. then, out of nowhere, he crashed. he stopped eating, couldn’t sleep, and had a stroke. i asked four vets and they all came to the same conclusion, which was that he wouldn’t recover even if i did extreme life saving measures.

i wanted to share a little bit about him, so i could look back on this and remember whenever i would forget. he really liked sleeping with a “pillow” even if it was a laptop, a book, an ipad case. he had two different colored eyes, but after a while, you couldn’t tell with his dry eyes. he had two back feet that faced different directions, so he had a small waddle when he walked. he used to LOVE sleeping in the bed with me and would love to lick him hands for five minutes straight to give me affection. he survived a horrible attack by a bigger dog that almost killed him but he went on to live and have the cutest, weirdest scar on his neck. he could still do his tricks a month ago.

it’s going to be incredibly weird to not have the dog i had throughout every big milestone so far. i graduated middle school, high school, and college with him. i had my first relationship and break up with him by my side. theres has not been a single other living being that has offered me unconditional love and support. i lived to make him happy; i cooked for him, bought him whatever he wanted, and wanted to give him the most wonderful years.

i don’t really know how to go on, but i like to think if i could anthropomorphize him, i think he’d want me to remember that he would’ve continue to support me no matter what. he gave me so much to live for, and i think he’d want me to use that memory to keep going.

i used to give out little memorials to people that i knew who had pets that passed away, without ever really knowing what it felt like. i wish i could do that for everyone in thus sub, but since that’s not possible, i’d like to offer all the hope and love i can muster. thank you <3