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“An archetype is an original model on which something is patterned or based.” – [[wp:Archetype|quote in context]]
ed. note: I waited a few days to post this, it’s mostly for me and I didn’t want to upset anyone. But I want to get it up there, maybe it will help.
[[wp:Homer]] was Tatsumi’s dog. On Saturday morning Homer was ill, and they had to euthanize him. There wasn’t anything else that could be done. It was fast… then it was over. Those are the facts. It sucks huge rocks, and that too is a fact… but facts don’t tell it all.
Homer was a unique animal and yet he was every dog you ever hoped to have. I could also use the word [[wp:prototype]] I suppose, but archetype has more style so screw it. Homer was completely and utterly at peace with his dogness – big, strong, loyal and with a Shakespearean ability to look like he never, ever got fed even as he licked his lips. He was into people, food, chasing things and breaking up cat fights (literally) in a seemingly random order that roughly centered around wanting whatever one he had the least of at any given moment.
We understood each other. I brought him food, and he ate it. He brought me fur and I scratched it. It was a very manly relationship. We didn’t need to say much. It was just understood that at some point he figured out I wasn’t a threat to the family and for this privilege I owed him French fries.
It is unfortunate that I couldn’t be there when all this happened, but then it wasn’t really a place for me. All five members of the family Homer lived with all those years were there, and I doubt any of us could ask for more when our time comes. I still wish I could have been there for her. Egotistically, I like to think I could have helped; realistically I would have been in the way.
In another sense though I can see it in my mind and feel it in my gut. We had been through this when PC got sick and it became clear things would not end well and we had lost other pets. Everything I wrote then applies still, about life and important moments, about my wish for it and how I feel about us. Go read it, I’ll wait (remember to open it in a new window). For those that cheated here is a small piece in particular…
“I shouldn’t be surprised at the speed… now that I think about it all the big things happen in a very, very short amount of time… seconds or less in fact. You either act or not, speak or not, know or not. Whatever it is your supposed to do or not do at that point – there is always a split moment in time when it happens… or when it doesn’t. The plunger begins to move… and in the final analysis that is when the story was scripted… not in the 10 seconds that follow.” – quote
See what I mean? It always sucks, and it never gets any easier. Our pets teach us, protect us, bolster us. They grow with us – sometimes over decades and even though it would seem that the relationship is one sided (after all, we own our pets do we not?) they effect us and change us. Pets make us better entities, better people. A lot of the people in Tatsumi’s life understand the pain of this situation, and it gives me some faith in humanity that even among all the insanity we can mourn the lose of a pet.
Somewhere in the beyond there are a lot of cats (all declawed) fighting each other good naturedly. There is a huge pile of French fries and cat food on the sidelines and a cool collar that says “cat bouncer” on the tag. They are just waiting for someone to come along and break it up, and we know who can handle the job.
I’m sorry it had to happen baby. I wish I could tell you it won’t ever happen again. I can tell you you’ll always have people around who care to try and help.