My mom, animal lover, whose dream was to be a veterinarian when she was little, made the difficult decision to have her German Shepherd, Stanzi, put down yesterday. Stanzi lived to be 13 1/2 years old. She was a little crazy in the head, to put it nicely, but a very loyal and beautiful dog in her day. We named her Stanzi after Mozart's wife (bunch of nerds we were!!!). My dad, hilariously, gave her her middle name. Where "Gladsome" came from, we'll never know. I guess she made him happy. I'm sure my dad would never outright admit to something like that, but there you have it.
I was a junior in high school when we got Stanzi, so she was my dog too. I remember hanging out at my boyfriend's house and my mom called me and told me I needed to come home ASAP, but she wouldn't tell me why. When I walked in the door, this beautiful and spunky little puppy greeted me and then slept in a ball on my pillow next to my head for the next several weeks. She kept me from getting too lonely, since my brothers had both moved out of the house at this point. She was loved!
I know there is usually some guilt necessarily built into a decision to have a pet put to sleep, but Mom, I know you made the right decision and you honored your dog by letting her maintain her dignity at the end.
R.I.P. Stanzi!.jpg)
5.26.2009
Constanza "Stanzi" Gladsome Wolfe
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5 comments:
i'm so happy i got to meet Stanzi... i'm so sorry her time on this earth has come to an end. but what a gorgeous mississippi life she got to lead! the envy of many dogs, i'm sure.
my deepest condolences to all you guys...
What a nice tribute. She was the crazies German Shepherd I ever had or knew, but she was happiest when she was chasing her tail..which was pretty often. Guess she was a very happy dog.
Remember the time when you were a Senior, I think, and you broke out in poison ivy on the inside of your right arm and all over your face and neck? At the time, you would have been the LEAST likely to have contracted PI, as you were NOT the outdoorsy type. (Shocking to your friends, I'm sure!) We finally figured out it was Stanzi that transferred it to you after she had a romp in the woods behind the house, and you had taken her uptown with you, hugging all over her all the way there and back. I think your eye was just about swollen shut! You did love her, as we all did.
She had a determination to live, and that made our decision that much harder. But I do know it was the right decision. Leo is now starting to miss her. I still can't believe she is gone.
God, the giver of every good gift:
We thank You for bestowing on us blessings both great and small. We thank You for Your greatest blessing--Yourself. We thank You for providing for our needs in the big ways--food, clothing, shelter. We thank You, also, gracious God, for providing for our needs in the small ways, the unexpected ways--blue skies, gentle breezes, the sound of a child laughing...the unconditional love and loyalty of pets.
We thank You for bringing Stanzi into our family. She came into the Wolfe family at a time when the Wolfe children were leaving the nest, and we thank You for bringing companionship and comfort to Daddy and Momma through Stanzi. We thank You for Stanzi's protectiveness and alertness.
We thank You for knowing our cares and for comforting us in our sorrow. Mend our sad hearts. We look forward to the glorious day when there will be no more death--even the death of pets--to cast a shadow over our lives, when the grave will be rendered powerless.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
I hope he and Felix, my miniature schnauzer, are in Doggie Heaven. When pets share such a large chunk of your life, they're like living diaries. I'm sure he had a great life.
That was a good tribute, Laura. And I'm sorry about Stanzi. I am sure that your p's cabin out in the boonies was as close to dog-heaven as any good pup could wish for.
-b
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