Best Dog EVER

I type this post with a heavy heart...a broken heart. 

We lost a very dear member of the Hayes house yesterday. After many years, twelve to be exact, Cletus had to leave us. As a puppy, he drove us absolutely insane. He chewed anything and everything that he could get his little teeth around, he shredded two different lawn swing covers, he barked our ears off and he liked to stay right under our feet.

By the time he was a year old, we had reached our limit. I still can't believe we actually sold him to another family. Even more, I can't believe the family that bought him lived just a few doors down from my good friend. Thank God she was close by to keep us updated on Cletus's whereabouts and condition. Otherwise, we would not have known when Cletus's new family abandoned him.
The day Stroker picked up Cletus and brought him back home made us all family again. I still remember Cletus running in the gate and around to the back of the house. He picked up Stroker's shoe, brought it to the front porch and just laid his little head on it like a pillow. He never chewed, dug holes, or bothered anything again...ever. 
He did continue to bark though. I think that was just to let us know he loved us to pieces. I think he was barking "I'll be right here when you get back...I'm gonna miss you while your gone".  He ran down the fence as we drove away every single day. He would watch our car until we were out of sight. If we turned the corner, he would run to the back of the yard beside our shed and watch for us to go down the side street. Every single time we returned home, he would meet us at the gate barking as if to say "I missed you like crazy...I'm so glad your home."
He was so appreciative in the winter for us to let him come inside. He was housebroken without ever being trained. He never left the rug in front of the front door. 

He didn't bother anything in our house. He just laid on his rug and took long warm naps. 

His health started to decline last year, just as a new puppy arrived in our yard. I noticed last summer that Cletus could no longer make a lap around the lake at the park. I had to carry him part of the way. Over the past few months, I've noticed Cletus stumble more, lay around more, and eat a lot less. He lost half his body weight over the last year from his sickness. From a healthy 19 pounds down to 10.2 pounds. He never showed us that he was in any pain, he always ran the fence when we left and met us at the gate when we returned. 

On Tuesday, my dad had stopped by the house around lunch. He commented that Cletus looked bad and that we should get him some "stick bologna" and feed him some everyday. My daddy seems to think that bologna cures anything. Who knows...he might be on to something there.
Tuesday evening, we took Kimba to the park for a walk and swim. When we returned, Cletus wasn't at the gate. As soon as I got in the yard, I began to call for him. I found him toward the back of the house laying on the ground. As I walked closer he raised his little head. Relief swept over me because I thought he had died. I sat down beside him and asked what was wrong. He could not get up. I called for Brooke to bring me lunch meat from the fridge because that usually perked him up. He raised his head to eat a couple of pieces, but lost interest. I knew at that point the inevitable was coming. 
I spent the rest of the evening, until 10:30 that night, outside with Cletus. I cried and cried as I pet him and told him what a good doggy he had been and that he would feel better tomorrow. I promised him that he would not hurt much longer. He tried to drag himself through the yard but it was too painful. He would lay in the grass and groan. 
We tried bringing him inside, but he could not get comfortable. He drug himself back to the door as if to ask to go back outside. We tried to get him comfortable on the porch, but by morning he had drug himself back to the yard. I think he just wanted to spend his last hours in the yard that he called home.
The next morning, Stroker and I took him for one last ride in the truck. I carried him into the animal hospital and stood right by his side, petting his little head until his last breath. I squalled like a baby the entire time. I never-ever thought the loss of an animal could hurt me so bad. He was our family. He was Cletus Hayes and he was very loved.
We buried Cletus out by the shed where he always ran and stood to watch us drive out of sight. I knew he would be happy there. I kept my promise. He doesn't hurt anymore. I miss him like crazy though.  

 12 years...with the Best Dog Ever.