With Sadness

It has been a difficult few weeks in our household. One of Elijah’s goats became ill and the vet came out and put her down. She was the friendliest goat. We have had to say good bye to a number of goats over the years but it always seems to hurt more when it is one of the friendly ones. We joked that she thought she was a puppy dog.

Then wee Freyja. Freyja was rejected by her mother and was weak it was very touch and go in the beginning, but within a week or so she was much stronger and had started to skip around the house. We were starting to give her more time outside with the other goats. She was doing quite well and with her we joked that she thought she was human. She was outside frolicking around one morning and by late afternoon she was going down hill fast. What a shock to us all, she passed in the early hours of the morning.

Today. This was a day that we all knew was coming and we were dreading it, all hoping for a little more time. Mocha, over the last year, we have seen a great decline, sight going, hearing going, and a tumour that the vet felt was an outward sign of a whole lot more. We knew that when the tumour split we would need to put her down. Today she was bleeding and it was too much to not do something about it.

It was heart wrenching seeing my children some who have known her their whole lives saying good bye to this constant in their lives. She has been with us through some of are very darkest days as a family when Joel’s life hung in the balance. When he came home and was in a wheelchair and had to learn to walk all over again she was patient and gentle with him.

She served as a constant watch dog always alerting us to any coming or going on our property. She was a playmate, someone to snuggle up with, and a friend. I find it hard to imagine that any dog could have been more loved but for those of you who have loved a dog you will know what I mean.

Even as I write these words I have one of my children curled up beside me quietly crying, feeling the deep loss of this day.

Already the house seems too quiet knowing she will no longer bark the alarm, even if in the last few months it was a bit delayed.

She really was the best dog we could have ever asked for. Mocha truly was part of our family.

There is truth in Lord Tennyson’s words, “Tis better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all.” Although we are so very sad, we would not trade relief from this pain for a life without Mocha. She did enrich our lives.

Unfortunately, before I had the thought to take pictures with Mocha before she left us Elijah had already gone back to work. What a hard day this was.