Any other teacher who runs a blog can relate to my dropping off of the face of the blog world for the past two weeks. It is just that time of the year where the teachers and students alike are counting down the days to summer. I will miss my kiddos from this year, I have a great bunch, but as always I am excited for them to move on and continue their drama-filled, adolescent journey through school.
Not only is this the busiest time of year for me with wrapping up teaching, distributing yearbooks, organizing summer soccer camps, recruiting new coaches for the fall season, planning tryouts, and preparing for the 9 day coaching course but also we had our first family "quake" with Radly's death.
I still remember the day Bill and I went to get Radly. All along we decided our first dog together would be a boxer. Bill had a boxer growing up and decided they were the best dog for any family to own.
However, when Bill met his friend Pat's new dog Porter ( a weim) he totally changed his mind. It was not two days after meeting Porter that we were traveling to some country bumpkin town in GA to pick out our new dog. Again, we decided that we would not get a boy, but a girl weim. We thought boys would be too rambunctious and a girl would be more loving and calm. Once again, we went against our "plan."
The chubby, cuddly, big boy in the corner was our man. We drove back a week later and picked Radly up. We both felt responsible, pressure, and excitement. This was a very serious step in our relationship, we had our first puppy!
From that point on Radly was the center of our lives. People always say, what did we do before dogs? It is so true. We took him everywhere; parties, the lake, the beach, the park. You name it, we went there as a family.
Bill would always remind me that he was not a 3 pound purse dog and that he weighed 85 pounds, but I didn't care. If Radly was not welcomed, then I did not want to be there. He lived at Bill's house and would hang out with his two buddies Shadow and Yuki (Luke's huskies). He was always a very laid back and chilled dog, but that did not mean he didn't know how to play like a champ.
It was not long after we had Radly that we decided he needed a brother- cue Kramer. Radly was immediately protective of Kramer. He was his responsibility and his annoying side kick. These two dogs were inseparable. They chased each other during the day, snarled at one another during dinner time, and cuddled all night every night while we slept.
We loved taking them to the park to swim, go on runs together, and walk them around campus on game days. The sight of two weimariners is a very show stopping thing to see. Everyone would stop us and say, "Oh what beautiful dogs, are they brothers?" Even though they were different litters, we would always answer yes.
They were more brothers than most human brothers are! Kramer was very loyal to Radly all the way to the end. He always checked on him and would lick his ears to keep him comfortable. It disgusted Bill and I, but we knew it was their biggest sign of affection to one another.
Our biggest reward of having Radly in our lives was his protective, affection toward our sweet baby girl.
Just as Radly took Kramer under his wing, he did the same with Ryan. Bill and I were so nervous to bring Ryan home and how the dogs would react. I think God knew that babies and dogs had to coexist in our lives and he made the interactions PERFECT.
Radly is definitely a momma's boy and I think he saw my endless love for Ryan and thought, "Well if mommy loves this little alien this much, I might as well too." He let Ryan crawl, poke, bite, kiss, and drool all over him without even flinching. He was amazing with her and she loved him so much. If Radly and Kramer were sitting next to each other at night, Ryan would crawl over to Radly and lay her head on his stomach. A week before Radly died I asked Ryan to show Radly she loved him and she just walked up to him and gave him the biggest hug and started kissing his head about 10 times.
I immediately started crying because I knew she would not grow up with him in her life and he loved her so much. I let her say goodbye to him the night before he died, just in case, and I am so glad I did. I know Ryan definitely has one big guard dog watching over her from above.
For those of you who are not totally aware of the happenings with Radly, I'll do a brief recap. People keep asking the question, "So what did he die from?" Well, that is a great question. After multiple, multiple trips to the vet and Auburn Vet Hospital that question still remains unanswered. The night before he died he lost control of his bowels, could not walk, and had lost a total of 39 pounds in a month. Bill and I were in Huntsville and called our vet to tell him it's time to let Radly go. We planned on driving back to Auburn and putting him down Sunday evening. He had a wonderful Saturday, laying outside while the Ferguson's were gardening, snuggling with Kramer, getting loved on by Ryan, and spooning with mommy. I slept downstairs with him on Saturday night so I could make sure he did not choke on his vomit and just that he stayed comfortable. At 5:30, I was awakened for the 4th time of the night with his vomiting (which was not unusual for him), this time was a bit more intense than others. I pet him pretty vigorously trying to get the vomit up and he heaved one more time and I just started kissing the top of his head and said, "Calm down baby, it's okay. Just calm down." At this point I knew he was dying. I was laying flat on the ground and he laid his head on top of my shoulder and closed his sweet eyes. I just kept whispering to him, "It's okay baby, I love you. It's okay." It was then that he took his last breath and died in my arms. As sad as it sounds, it was the way I wanted him to go. I was really struggling with the idea of putting him down. His death was very serene and he looked very peaceful. I immediately got Bill and he came downstairs to sit there with me. He was extremely upset, as was I.Bill immediately knew we were going to bury Radly in the backyard so he could always be with us. Even though he is gone.
Radly was an amazing dog. He was Bill and I's first responsibility together and I think in a way he definitely helped prepare me for motherhood. I used to always cry when I thought about the day that Radly died, but truthfully it put my heart at ease. My little man was not suffering anymore and he'd given Bill and me five amazing years on this earth. I like to think of Radly in doggy heaven right now sleeping with Roxie under a tree at a park very similar to those in Auburn. He loved being outside and loved relaxing in the cool breeze. Radly meant so much to Bill and me and we know we will never forget him.
Radly Ferguson January 8, 2005- May 9, 2010
Jack is SOOOO sweet and hyper. He LOVES Kramer and can play with him all day long. So far we are having a blast and are so happy with our new addition to the family.
Taking a break from playing with Kramer
Kramer is the one standing, Jack is sitting below him.
Playing tug-a-war in the backyard
After our run.
