It is hard to believe that it is already almost two years since we said goodbye to our beloved dog Oscar. Our dogs are all special to us, each in his or her own way, but Oscar truly was exceptional.
Adopting a shelter dog can be a gamble, but with Oscar we hit the jackpot. The worst thing he ever did was pull on the leash as a young dog, a behavior we were never able to conquer. It may have been the Husky part of him that wanted to pull, but we learned to channel that energy in a positive way and use it to our advantage to pull the kids on their sleds in the winter. I don’t know who had more fun, the kids or Oscar. He loved playing football in the snow, snacking on marshmallows and most of all his family.
In his youth he would occasionally escape when the opportunity presented itself but he never went far, enjoying the game and inviting us to join in. As he got older, he could be completely trusted to stay nearby despite our lack of a fence, happy to chase squirrels in the yard and relax under a tree when he got tired.
Adopting a shelter dog can be a gamble, but with Oscar we hit the jackpot. The worst thing he ever did was pull on the leash as a young dog, a behavior we were never able to conquer. It may have been the Husky part of him that wanted to pull, but we learned to channel that energy in a positive way and use it to our advantage to pull the kids on their sleds in the winter. I don’t know who had more fun, the kids or Oscar. He loved playing football in the snow, snacking on marshmallows and most of all his family.
In his youth he would occasionally escape when the opportunity presented itself but he never went far, enjoying the game and inviting us to join in. As he got older, he could be completely trusted to stay nearby despite our lack of a fence, happy to chase squirrels in the yard and relax under a tree when he got tired.
The last two years of his life as he gradually lost the use of his hind legs, Oscar faced his own challenges, but he faced them with courage and dignity. It was a difficult thing to watch our vibrant, independent dog become more and more dependent on us, but he seemed to accept it without complaint. He was an inspiration to all of us. He was a friend to everyone and a perfect mentor and teacher to Mickey who joined our family near the end of Oscar’s life. Although he was unable to walk without the help of a cart by then, he welcomed Mickey, showed him the ropes and made him feel like part of the family to the best of his ability.
At the time of his passing, my son and my daughter both wrote about him in their blogs. I recently came across the blog post my daughter wrote. It brought back many wonderful memories which I am happy to share. The joys of owning a dog are immeasurable. I thank my daughter Gloria for allowing me to share this very personal story and I thank Oscar for the fourteen years of devotion he gave to our family.
I hope you will enjoy my daughter's blog post and the beautiful collage of pictures in the link below.
http://thatsocallife.com/2012/06/18/for-oscar/
I hope you will enjoy my daughter's blog post and the beautiful collage of pictures in the link below.
http://thatsocallife.com/2012/06/18/for-oscar/
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