Mitchell Hendon (1994-2009) My Final Dog
Posted: Saturday, September 26, 2009
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
In my lifetime, I have owned, or been in the household with, a number of dogs. I remember them all and I loved them all. The only thing I found wrong with owning a dog is that they do not live long enough. If some accident or other factor doesn't end their life, it comes too soon anyway. It has always seemed like loosing a member of the family to me. That may be exaggerated a little but not very much.
One day in 1994, we were there and we came upon a man with a basketful of puppies. I can never pass that up. I stopped to pet them and look at them. The man picked one up and handed it too me and he began to lick my face and acted like I was his long lost mother. Man! My heart melted. But, I have will power, I didn't buy one. I asked him what breed they were and he told me they were registered Rat Terriers. This is a breed similar to a Jack Russell Terrier, except the Rat Terriers ears stand erect...normally. They are also a little lighter weight. He told me he raised them and also Jack Russell Terriers, so I took his name, phone number and where he lived, for later reference. The puppies were beautiful, healthy and clean. I could hardly walk away.
A few weeks later, we decided to call him and buy one. When I got him on the phone, he told me he had a new litter but he was going to take them to Florida where he said he could easily sell them for $300 each. When I told him I could not meet that price, he said that he had one whose markings were not like the others in the litter and said he would sell him to me for $125.00 and he would be ready to take away from his mother in 3 more weeks. So we showed up in three weeks and I could not discern anything much different about the one he sold me from the others. Regardless, he was a beauty.
When I filed the registration papers I named him Mitchell. He was a highly intelligent puppy. We fixed a shallow pan with an absorbent pad in it for his luxury bath. We brought him home on Friday evening and on Sunday evening, he went to the pan of his own volition. We had only hurried him to it a few times.
And he never had an accident after that. We thought that was amazing, and I still do. But Mitch was a joy to have. We loved him as much as he loved us. The only thing, these dogs love the outdoors and he wanted out a lot. We allowed him to wander around the neighborhood a good deal until one of the neighbors complained to us that he was marking his tires.
I had a chain link fence installed around the back and one side of yard. He became so enamored with the yard, he was unhappy even to stay in at night, so I bought him a nice doghouse. He became strictly an outdoor dog. But he was short haired and when it became really cold, I would make him stay inside, at least overnight when it was very cold. But he didn't even like that. 
Mitch was a joy to have. When we were away and came home, barking would not suffice, he would let out along howl of greeting. He loved to retrieve anything you threw so I kept him a hard rubber bone which he could chew on but could not eat so we had something to throw. But Mitch and I grew old together, even though I had a sixty-four year start on him. I became so arthritic, I could hardly throw the bone and he, likewise, could hardly retrieve it. So we just came to the point that I rubbed him and he would lick my hand in return.
And, Mitch began to have trouble seeing and hearing. He also got to the point he sometimes didn't even recognize me. He would bark at me as he would a stranger until I approached him and spoke softly to him, and even then, I don't think he knew it was me. His arthritis grew much worse and some times i could simply touch to rub him and he would yelp in pain.
Last winter, on a cold and rainy night, I had gotten him inside for the night, but he began to whine and scratch to go out. It was drizzling rain and I did not want to do it, but thought that I might regret it if I didn't, because he might need to go. So I let him out, thinking he would be back in a few minutes as he usually was. But he didn't come back. So I put on my cap and coat and went out with my flashlight, walked up and down the block the alley and all about but could not find him . So after being soaked, went back home and worried about him all night. But I felt sure he would be back in the morning.
He was not, so I spent the day driving up and down the alleys and streets for blocks around and could find no trace of him. As it began to grow dusky dark in the evening, I got out once more and canvassed the neighborhood to see if any had seen my dog. Just as I was about to call it off, I asked a fellow about a block from my house and he said that he had not seen any strange dog around. Then his wife said there goes a little dog. They were facing me and the man said yes a dog just crossed the street at the next block over, and when I looked, there was nothing there, but he asked if my dog was black and white, which he was, I scurried (I don't scurry nearly as fast as I used to) up the street to the next block and when I reached it, there goes Mitch back in the opposite direction, opposite direction from our house. This was almost 24 hours since I turned him out, but when I called to him, he came to me but seemed to be confused. Normally he would have been hysterical with joy, but this time, only followed me as if nothing really mattered.
I dreaded for winter to come this year. I knew that I would have to forcibly keep Mitch inside the house some way or another. I could not trust him outside the fence anymore because he no longer knew what home was, more especially how to find it if he wandered off. But approximately a month ago, I rose one morning and was preparing to go outside to feed Mitch. As I stepped out, I saw the fence gate was open about two feet. The drop down latch on the gate was standing up. So, someone had to have entered the gate, or at least started to do so. I quickly checked to see if Mitch was in his house. He was not.
Hi Joel.I am so sorry for your loss. To lose Mitch that way and not really get any closure must be very difficult. It sounds as if he was a wonderful dog.Take care and be well,DianneThanks Dianne, for the kind remarks. Yes, if you ever want a loving dog, don't hesitate to get a Rat Terrier. Small, ultra clean and loves everyone. Even burglars, I would imagine. Mitch weighed about 18 lbs most of his life.
Hi Joel.From your article, I felt I knew Mitchell. When I was growing up, I had a dog named "Exur" who also died from old age. He became arthritic and blind and I lost him and I still remember him.I loved this article.God bless and good health.NenitaThank you Nenita, it has always been tough to give up an animal I really loved, but on the other hand, I have enjoyed them so very much. I even had a little Finch bird which I loved with all my heart. She was a real sweetheart.
Hi Joel,I too have suffered this same heartbreak, several times over. Mitch sounds like he was a smart, wonderful dog and companion. I have a few ideas that you might consider, as they have comforted me and many family members that decided that full-time pet ownership was no longer an option.I actually share my two dogs with another family. They have children and a fenced yard, mine are grown and I have no fence. We live a short distance from their home so the dogs live there much of the time but we share responsibilities. I take the dogs while they are on vacations and because the dogs are lonesome most of the work day, I take them for walks in the park 1-2 times a week in nice weather. We each buy dog food and share vet costs and I know this arrangement has made our dogs very happy. The dogs are as thrilled to see me as they are to see the other family. Sometimes, I even think they prefer to come to our house to have a break from the little kids and to be spoiled (fluffy beds, yummy treats). When they come we do a little circuit around my neighborhood and they get to check their "pee-mail" as we call it...always the same spots, and they are excited to see our neighbors dogs too!My brother works a lot but volunteers at the animal shelter 2-3 times a month. He doesn't have to clean up or anything...just give the dogs attention or a short walk to keep them socialized. They have people that only play with the cats too!My Aunt cannot have a pet in her retirement home so she collects towels or donations and has animal shelter staff pick them up from her. She also donates a little cash every few months or so, but only to reputable shelters or rescue groups. She says that her pets gave her such comfort over her 90 years, that she feels good about giving them something back.It may be out of the question for you, but I hope that other folks that are concerned about a new pet outliving them, might consider adopting an older shelter animal. Many older, well trained pets have only ended up there since the economy went bad and people began to lose their homes.Domesticated animals need us humans to love and protect and care about them even if it is from a distance!Thank you, I loved your tribute....Thank you Liz for your comments and kind advice. We are fortunate in one way. About the time Mitch disappeared, a scrawny black cat started hanging around our house and as usual, we could not stand to see a poor hungry animal so we began feeding her. My Wife soon noticed that she had the appearance of being pregnant. (I don't know much about such things) But, sure enough, she blessed us with 4 babies, 3 solid black like Mama and one black and white. We took her in and she is a wonderful cat, a doting mother and very clean and nice. We named her Tillie. So she has eased the pain somewhat. The babies now have their eyes open and are FAT. And she is no longer skinny or scrawny. She eats like a horse and is now beautiful. My wife brushes her coat every day and she LOVES it.Joel, I am so thrilled that Tillie got lucky picking the right house! Cats usually show their love and appreciation differently than our dogs do...some of my cats make me feel like I have to earn it...and i usually do! Good luck with her and God Bless you and your wife for having such wonderful hearts! Liz
hi joel,i am sorry for your loss. my partner knows how much i love my little maltipoo, and he says if anything were to happen to him, he wants to be far away! my son recently lost his cat in over 5 acres of cornfields. he looked for that cat for 7 hours, in the rain, to no avail.animals are fun to own, but sad when they pass away.my daughter had a ferret that spent all it's time with her when she was in her room. we had to have the vet put it to sleep, and she stayed outside on the wet, cold ground for over an hour before she buried it herself.i guess the memories of the hapiness our pets brought us, is all we have, and that's a lot!my best to you,sueHi Sue, good to hear from you, and thanks for reading and commenting. You can read the response I made to Liz above to see the latest developments. Bless your daughter's heart. I guess everyone who loves animals shares the sadness of people lose one.
Oh my goodness, Joel,You made me cry. When I have put down a dog, at least I know that it is over. My heart breaks that you weren't with him at the end. What a lovely, touching tribute.Thank you,NancyThanks for reading and commenting Nancy. Yes, I really felt bad about not even knowing what may have happened to him. But the black cat, I told about in the second comment above of mine, has helped a great deal to keep my mind off of Mitch.
A wonderfully written and touching story, and some nice photos of a well-loved dog!Thanks Ben, for reading and commenting. I miss him, but at least he is no longer in pain. (I take the approach the he is now dead. The only thing I can imagine that would cause him to still be alive. is if someone took him in and cared for him. But that is unlikely, because he was no longer eager to accept people)
I am just so sorry. It is cruel that dogs have such short lives, and I am especially sorry that you don't know for sure how he died. Maybe he came across a person like me, I took in a lost large breed, very old dog. We loved him for six months until we were forced to put him down. He may have wandered off, or just been dumped. I will never know. But we loved him while we had him.I do hope your heart heals.Thanks for the comments, Kate. I really appreciate them.
What a touching story,Joel. I could feel your stress and heartache at the thought of your friend being lost and afraid. I am sorry for your loss but rejoice at the wonderful memories you have shared.Thank you.Thanks Ken, for reading and commenting. My remark in the article that dogs just don't live long enough, is the key. They live just long enough to really win over your heart.
Joel, my heart aches for the both of you. Those little maggots (as my husband refers to our two jack-rusell terriers) find a way deep into the heart. What a beautiful dog. Thanks for sharing his picture. may God comfort your hearts. I know what you mean about not getting another dog. We have had our hearts broken several times. The two we have now are going on 9 years old. Blessings to you my friend! TeresaThanks for the kind words Teresa. We now have a black cat who took up at our house and was in a family way. She has now given us 4 more (3 black). Aren't they bad luck? If so we now have a house full of bad luck.
Joel, I am so sorry about Mitch. Your words had so much meaning to me as I had my best friend "put down" yesterday due to old age. Sophie was a Shar Pei and 11 and 1/2 years old. The years finally became too much for her. I am now in one of my "I will never have another dog stages". It does seem like a part of me goes with each and every one I have lost so who knows. I am glad you have the cat.Thanks Ray, we do love the cat, and she helps, but I can never seem to achieve the degree of bond with a cat that I always do with dogs. Thanks again for your kind comment.
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