I spent much of early Wednesday on the floor with Lefty which seemed to ease his sleep until together we watched the approaching of the light, then the sun…
After breakfast Linda called Alturas to see if we could come in early which they said was fine and although by the time we were ready it ended up only being half an hour sooner the little
dog was calmly almost gone and limp as a noodle. Had I remembered how comfortable he was in the truck – the same one that carried him away him from that Owyhee coyote trap in 2002 when both he and it were new – I’d have turned right in Cedarville and driven east towards the Sheldon; long before Long Valley he might well have left us, but…
in Alturas, thin from days without sustenance, he seemed peaceful on the table, ready and in a reverie. I pinched some Wall Spring sage under his nose saying “remember this.” He’d been to the mountains and seen the sea, even, but was ever a creature of the sagebrush ocean, born
and now dying there. The vet, as empathetic as a mechanic, took three stabs into two legs to find a vein for the pink fluid and then, with some small shudders, Lefty left us. We stayed on a little while, not long enough in retrospect, then drifted dazedly through errands in town,
dropping 1,660 pounds of batteries at the recycle [probably wouldn’t have been such a good idea to head east into the Sheldon with that weight], picking up a few dumb things at the
Holiday and pumpkin curry at Nuch’s before heading back over the Warners and numbly down.
Coming into Nevada, in a scene reminiscent of that opening shot in “Vanishing Point” where Kowalski crosses himself going and coming from Denver, an immaculately white 1950 F-1 streetrod pickup passed us northbound, low-slung for to carry him home. I didn’t think about it at the time, just concentrated on getting on home ourselves
to three dog beds and one sad dog.
He was a good one, more than…
[October 21, 2002; four days out of the Owyhee…]
Travel well, little Friend.
Amen Lefty, May you have gentle times on the Sprit Path….
Mike, wow, what a journey it’s been…
Three dogs beds and one dog, ouch…
Thanks for the sage under the nose… treats known to some!
Lefty has been a great buddy, and yes, maybe a right turn at Cedarville in the direction of the coyote trap you found him in would have been poetic. Tho’ just your writing it is evocative enough…
Love to you and Linny + Aggie, E
Thank you, E; you were there at the beginning..Anderson Crossing, salami ‘n’ crackers…
A lucky dog he was! Salami n’ crackers, a nice ride, loving humans; Nirvana! When we got off the desert you took him to the vet in the ‘muck… (that was a first… the challenger never noticed vets). We were thinking that that paw of his needed more attention than we could give it. At least he got it cleaned up enough to stay mobile and happy for the better part of 16 years !!! That meeting at Anderson Crossing was transformative in ways we didn’t expect… grand adventures in the Owyhee – just stay outta the coyotes traps…
Thank you for sharing this. Sage ocean!
It wasn’t easy.
Our boon companions–
They teach us so much, both coming into our lives and leaving them.
No dog had a finer obituary, Michael!
beautifully said, heartbreakingly sad.
So reminiscent of what I went through in March with my cousin. Heartfelt condolences and warm memories.
I love that dog. I hope your days get easier, but how sad indeed.
Sad for us, and what about Aggie? Waiting at the door for Lefty to come out after Linny for their walk this morning…
… too too misty just now to click these keys…
Just catching up on your wonderful posts–to come to this touching end. Sad for you two, and for Aggie. Those unwavering companions.
A.
That was a beautiful goodbye, Mike, for a very lucky little friend.
That last kindness is so hard to get to…. With time it gets easier but you never forget them and what they gave us.
Hedi
Never; nor should we.
A wonderful life with caring “parents”; Lefty was a lucky dog.
Sweet blog farewell; great old photos.
Thanks…. I will miss him.