At 5:30 pm today we put our dog, Sonic, to sleep. We made the decision this past weekend as his condition became worse. We called our mobile vet and made the appointment. Sonic stopped eating, could barely move around without getting winded and coughed constantly. He was basically drowning. It was time.
We got Sonic about this time 13 years ago. Jen wanted to get me a dog as a wedding gift. I had wanted a dog for a period of time. We had talked about a Lab or a Collie but we weren’t sure what would best. We happened to be at the Metro North Mall when Jen wanted to visit the pet store. The minute she saw the Yorkshire terriers I knew I was getting a small dog. There was one in particular that kept coming back to Jen and loved to play. We ended up getting me a Yorki. I told everyone we had gotten a terrier because it sounded more like a guy’s dog. I really wasn’t sure about have a small dog and really didn’t want to claim him as mine.
It turned out that dog was a bundle of fun. Within a few days of having him at home we named him sonic, after the video game. He would run across the floor so fast that he’d end up doing a head first flip and then he’d keep on going. It was also shortly after getting him that I realized a dog could take the blame, a benefit I had not recognized initially. One evening I was watching TV and thought Jen was downstairs studying. She happened to walk upstairs and asked what was that smell? She looked at me and I instantly said I think Sonic has a gas problem. Jen bought it. The next day Jen started trying new dog food thinking the brand we had was causing the problem. Overtime there was a few more “blame the dog” episodes, which caused Jen to call the vet and get pills to stop the gas. This went on for about 6 months when I was caught. Sonic was actually with Jen when I blamed him. I was busted.
We did have a little wood chewing problem with sonic as well. We were in our new house in Liberty Missouri for less than a year when we went away for a short weekend trip. Our neighbors at the time looked after sonic, letting him out and feeding him as we were gone. Upon our return on Sunday, Sonic decide to chew on some of the woodwork in the house. Actually, he chewed on a bunch of it. Monday morning our mobile vet came to our house to do the “snip snip”. Jen picked up sonic, pointed to the chewed up woodwork and then handed him to the vet. Sonic never chewed on any wood again.
Sonic was also a great rabbit dog. We were having some problems with rabbits in our first home and one day sonic caught one in the back yard. Let’s just say Jen was shocked and we had no more rabbit problem after that.
During this time Sonic developed some unique quirks. He would try to smile like a human, which really meant one side of his upper lip would roll up and show his teeth as he leaned his head. Think Elvis if you’re looking for a visual. Instead of barking for our attention, he’d make a fake sneezing noise. He wiped his back feet whenever he came into the house as if he was cleaning them off before entering. People asked if we trained him to do that, but really, I think he wanted to be like us.
We moved to Plymouth Michigan when Sonic was 2. He loved going to northern Michigan and exploring the outdoors. We took him on camping and canoe trips. I can remember the first time we took him on the platte river in Michigan. He stepped into a shallow area of the river and kept shifting which legs were in the water. It took him a bit to realize it was all right, but soon he was running around and standing on the seats of the canoe. He also enjoyed running on the beach and chasing other dogs, especially the big ones. Sonic had a napoleon complex.
Jen looked to sonic as a protector. Not only did he have great ears to hear things when she was at home alone, but on multiple occasions he put himself between a dog (like a pit bull on Lake Michigan) or another person and Jen. One night in downtown Plymouth a man was falling Jen and kept trying to grab her. Sonic attacked and chased the guy across the street. He was her little hero.
But sometimes his eagerness to protect got him in trouble. In the spring of 2002, Sonic wanted to go outside at about 2 in the morning. I walked him to our back yard only to see Sonic turn around a charge past me to the bushes next to our deck. I turned around to catch a mist flying in my face. Sonic began coughing and looked like his face had been dunked in water. Out of the bushes came a skunk. As the skunk pepe le pew’d across our back yard, I started gagging from the smell. After walking through the house, taking a tomato bath (which doesn’t work for the record), we called a 24 hr vet. First thing they said was don’t come in the smell won’t leave (oh, jen was happy about that.. in fact, this happened on a Friday and Monday when she went to work, they could smell it on her) and we needed to take a bath in peroxide and dish soap. So Sonic and I took the bath and then slept on the porch. The next day our neighbor, Dave Workman, was outside and asked if we smelled the skunk last night. He then said somebody got hit big time. In the spring of 2003 Sonic and I got hit again. This time, we stayed in the yard. It took about 5 years for Sonic not to have a hint of skunk smell when he got wet.
There were a few things Sonic didn’t like about Michigan. The snow was deeper than he could handle and after the first time jumping into a pile and getting buried, he wouldn’t touch the stuff again. I had to clear paths for him to use the yard. He also didn’t like the leaves in the fall. When they fell, he barked at them and when they were on the ground, he didn’t like the noise they made when he walked on them.
We moved back to the KC metro in winter of 2004. We moved into a bigger home and the first few days, Sonic seemed lost every time he tried to find us. Without furniture (which was in transit), the house echoed and sonic found himself barking at his own echoes. It was at this time that he began to become a great lap dog. He’d sit there for hours and wanted nothing more than to be with us. When Madison came along 20 months ago, he was definitely jealous and really unsure. But once he found out Madison dropped food, they became best friends. When she started walking she’d chase sonic around the pool table. He’d do the same when she had something in her hand. They became best friends. Madison called him “sawsaw” and he would come running. I think our favorite memories are when Sonic would sit on the floor next to Madison and they’d share some food.
But this last year also had some sadder moments. Sonic had to have teeth removed, developed a heart murmur and he slowed down. We expected, at his age, for him to become less active, but he went from full speed to almost stopping within a month. He started losing bladder control and it was obvious without his pills, he couldn’t get oxygen into his system. Our neighbor came over to look after Parker and Madison when the Mobile Vet pulled up. Jen and I were both there as he took his last breath, closed his eyes and went to sleep. He was finally calm and at peace. I’d like to say I was macho about it, but it hurt. He was a huge part of our lives. Writing this and looking at past pictures passed the time tonight. They made us laugh and appreciate what we had. He was a good dog. He was my dog.
