Anthology: A Collection of Short Stories

Childhood Friend

5/4/23

She was so anxious when she was little. She was scared of certain people, scared of people coming through the front door. She did grow out of that, but she was still skittish about certain things. Though, who wouldn't react when you get woken up by a fire alarm?

Once she got through her fear, she had so much energy. Playing in the backyard, jumping into the pool, running from one end of the house to the other (and subsequently running into a wall at least once).

I was 4 ½ when we adopted her. I was adopted too, but I think she knew that.

I was 18 when she passed. The nurse at the hospital we were at was almost surprised she lived as long as she did, being about 13 ½. She had a tumor; it wasn't cancerous, but it was still bad since it was in her mouth.

She lived with that tumor for about a month, if not a little over. We knew it was hurting her when she couldn't eat solid foods; but, we knew she was near the finish line when she stopped drinking.

We let her walk around the hospital when we first got there, and with how much energy she had, it almost seemed like the tumor didn't exist at all. When the doctor looked at the tumor, though, even he was shocked. It had grown, and her teeth were becoming covered by it. He suggested that day we put her down, especially when he learned she stopped drinking.

My mother and father weren't sure. 

"She was just acting like she was okay, what if this is the wrong choice?"

I knew if she stayed alive, though, she would be suffering. She would be in pain.

She refused to lie down, but with the sedation working faster than we thought, she would have collapsed if my father hadn't been holding her. She seemed scared, just as anxious as she was when she was little.

That had probably been the most difficult day I've ever experienced. She was my best friend, a good dog, and a very good girl.

⧫⧫⧫

J.E.Monroe