My dog has died.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

On Christmas Day he was put down. He didn't eat on the 24th, and vomited in the early evening. I let him out side, but he didn't come back in. When i was ready for bed I went looking for him. He came out from under a rose bush and came back in the house. After I had gone to bed I could hear him vomit again. When I got up in the morning I could see he vomited up a blood clot and was bleeding from his mouth. I took him to the emergency vet. They wanted $3000 to look at him I put it on my credit card. They took X-rays and said he had fluid in his abdomen, and would need a ultra sound to know what was wrong. To get that I would need to drive to Marin where it would cost $1,000 and I could spend the night in a Hotel. I said I wasn't going to be driving down there, and I would leave my dog overnight for them to do the ultrasound the next day. They wanted another $2000 before I left. They asked me to call when I got home. I did. Then they called me back a little later and said he went into septic shock, and rather then let him suffer, they put him down. I went back on Tuesday and picked him up to bring him home and bury him. They gave me a $1,620 refund. He was the smartest dog I have ever owned. All my other dogs would let themselves in when they wanted to come in the house, but he was the only one that would open the door from the inside and let himself out.

I live on a coastal ridge on the Sonoma Co California coast. There hasn't been a frost here yet this winter. I live within a Homeowners Association and there are a few 40 acre parcels for sale. I have wondered if there might be folks looking for property that might be interested in moving into the wild. There are Mt lions and bears that show up now and then. Twice I have had a mt lion thin my flock of sheep. The coyote has taken a few too. The soils are quite radical. There is a hill behind the firehouse that is made of chert. That used to be the ocean floor where diatoms collected and were subducted and transformed under heat and pressure into something the Indians could make arrow heads out of. There is also an area on the ranch whee there is a lot of cobble. I thought it was part of an old river bed, but a geologist told me it was glacial moraine. Then there are big boulders 15 - 20' in diameter that made their way here from the Sierras. The San Andras Fault is just a couple miles to the West. And on another near by Homeowners Association there is rock that used to be a volcanic core. There are also sandy soils called Gold Ridge Cap. A type of soil that will support apple orchards without needing summer water.

Well, my best friend has died. He came into my life crawling onto my lap and chewing on my beard. The 25th he got into the truck, then out of the truck and walked to the door of the Vet's but resisted going in the door way. Two people had to come carry him inside. I don't post a lot on DU, but I just wanted to connect with some folks and share my life. Just over 6 years ago I was driving home from visiting my family after Thanksgiving and lost my partner of 40 + years. I didn't share that with DU at the time, but I thought about doing so several times.

Well, I guess I will close this and wish everyone a productive new year.

Eagle East, Coyote South, Brown Bear West, White Buffalo North, Great Spirit, Mother Earth and all my relations; Thank You for the Many Blessings bestowed upon me and show me the path to be a blessing myself.