Applesauce

To some of you, this post may seem silly.

But 15 years is a long time.

If you've never had a dog for a pet, then you might not understand.

But they're nicknamed "Man's Best Friend" for a reason.

Last week, my momma had to make a very difficult decision.

And on Friday, we had to put our very loving, gentle, precious Applesauce down.

He came into our lives, along with his brother, 15 years ago as a super hyper puppy.

We tried creating a big pen for them to live in, but they always dug under it and wandered off.

We gave them a dog house to live in, but they didn't want to live there.

A little over a year after we got them, Ebony (the black lab) was hit by a tractor and killed.

He was a daredevil and it was no wonder than he got hit.

Applesauce grieved the loss of his brother.

Afterall, they'd take a walk to our neighbors house (about a quarter mile up the road) everyday together at 3:00, but they'd be back by 3:30 to get us off the school bus.

Applesauce was ornery.

My mom LOVES to plant flowers.

But as soon as she planted them, he would have them dug up and be laying in the cool dirt.

She would be totally irate at him, and several times it was quite hysterical.

How could a dog make a person that mad?

Later, my dad bought an invisible fence and shock collar for him to wear.  

He'd stay far, far away...until he figured out the batteries were dead. Ha!

We occasionally let him inside.

Now, my dad always said that no palace was big enough for him and a pet.

But...somehow, he got away with it.

Occasionally, we'd forget to put him back outside and we'd find him in my room...

usually like the picture below. 

I remember one morning, Mom even had him come wake me up!  

What a silly dog!

He was very camera shy for some reason.

So getting pictures with him or even of him looking at the camera was pretty amazing.

Maybe he thought we were going to hurt him?

He hated his flea and tick medicine.  

Mom always had to have him come in, and go back to her bedroom with the door shut so he couldn't flee.

It was a nightmare trying to put that stuff on him.

Even if he saw the stuff in her hands, he'd run far, far away. 

We always did funny things to him.

One time, he came in and laid down by me, so I put a pillow under his head. :)

When we got the puppies, we got them fixed.

My dad took them to a vet in the back of a corn truck.

When they got home, they had to heal.

Well, since then, they hated vehicles.

They wouldn't ride anywhere with us because they probably associated cars and trucks to pain.

Later on, we finally got Apple to ride in a car.

Just a couple years ago, we loaded him up in my car and took a little drive.

He would pace in my backseat going from one side to the other.

Then I rolled my window down for him, and he just sat in the back seat with his head on my shoulder because he liked the wind in his face.

He would go irrigating with us.

Because he didn't like vehicles, he would run beside the pipe trailer.

We were always so amazed at how he could just keep running.

We we would get the water turned on in the field, he would lay in one row and just enjoy the cold well water that was coming out of the pipe.

And he was a complete MESS after that!!

It was always so fun to take him with us, because he liked to chase random things:  squirrels, bunnies, flies.

Applesauce was really my only pet.

He and Ebony were the dogs that made me no longer scared of other dogs.

He would jump up and down anytime we came home because he was so excited to see us.

He would jump on the van door when we would pull up to get the mail.

He got mad when we would go on vacation for a long period of time.

Two years ago, he got in a fight with the neighbor's dog (who's two times bigger than him).

Tyler and I couldn't break up the fight...and it was really scary.

I seriously thought that dog was going to kill him.

And I actually wanted to kill that other dog.

He always thought he was bigger and meaner than he was...

because in reality, he was a tender, sweet, caring, 'fraidy-cat, dog.

 When I went home for Christmas, I knew that it would be the last time I saw him.

He wasn't doing very well at all...he had hip dysplasia.

It hurt my heart to see him walk and sit and lay like he was.

I couldn't even just talk to him normally, because I welled up with tears every time I saw him.

It really sucks to lose a pet...one that holds so many memories.

Dogs have such personalities, they become family.

And that is exactly what Applesauce is...family.

I'll leave you with one of the funniest things I ever did see.

Applesauce LOVED to sing. :)

*Sorry for the picture quality on the 2nd video.*