Bailey's Irish Rudy aka That Rude

How can you not love this face?

I am up late with Rudy on my mind. Earlier, I had received the news, or maybe it was confirmation in my world of denial, that our sweet boxer has cancer. Our veterinarian, whom we trust, says this isn't treatable. But he was surprised at how well Rudy was doing. Rudy-dog is a tough guy after all. I was told that we're going to have make a decision as his quality of life will not go on to be as good as it has been. Of course, on the way home from his appointment, I cried. And then, later as I was at my desk, it hit me again, even harder- I'm going to have to get used to the idea of saying good-bye again. It feels like I just did this with Hakeem the Dream. We lost That Weem in the fall of 2009 and I still pine away for that dog. Chris found Rudy in 2001 and so we've known him longer than we've known our oldest daughter. Chris says that Rudy is the first pet that was all his. I must admit, I was a little miffed when he walked into our first home with this puppy and hadn't asked me about it first. But he was the cutest little puppy I had ever seen with all that extra skin and one brindle ear. I always liked to say that he has a face only a mother could love, and I do love it! Rudy is riddled with bad, recessive genes. Being a white boxer, he knows he's lucky to have survived. Without his one brindle ear he would have been like most whites, deaf or dead. He's always had weird skin allergies, shed like crazy and looked at the UPS man with serious, paranoid disdain. He has, all his life, acted a little bit aloof, much like a person. I must say he's been an awesome pet. He has literally looked after my children as they have grown up. When they play outside, he's never far away. Even now, being as sick as he is, he follows us whenever we jog, ride bikes and go to the lake. He's on three legs since an injury back last winter and he still keeps up with us. He never complains. That is the worst part of this whole ordeal. This 10 1/2 year old boxer-pup never tells you that he is in pain. He lets you doctor on him and tend to him and he has never snapped, growled or whimpered. He still eats like it's his last meal and then goes and kicks Lilly out of her bowl. He just acts normal, with the exception of slowing down in his old age.

Today, at the vet's office, Rudy came up to me and put his head on my knee, as if to say, "Rub my ear, I need you." It's like he has seen this movie and he knows how it ends. And now, I lie awake in the night and think about what this dog means to me and my family. I suppose I'm going to come at this like I did with Hakeem. I'll feed him whatever I can get him to eat as his health declines and we'll keep him warm and comfortable. We'll show him as much love as a family can give to a family member and then when it's time, he'll let us know. This is how it went down before and it wasn't easy. I expect this will be no easier. I keep asking myself, why do we get pets? We know this is inevitable with all God's creatures. But, in my heart, I know that our lives are so much richer having loved these animals and having been loved by them.
This photo was taken during the summer of 2011. We adopted Lillybelle in 2010 to keep Rudy company after we lost Hakeem in '09. They have gotten along very well since she came to us.
Here Rudy enjoys hosting the Bailey Seafood Boil in 2010. He was still on all fours in this shot. As you can see, his facial expression doesn't change much from photo to photo.
This is almost my all-time favorite photo of Rudy and Hakeem together- the Yin and the Yang.