I have (had) two Tibetan terriers, they’re wonderful pets, perhaps a bit stubborn at times but wonderful, loyal, characterful companions. Not long before Christmas 2025 I noticed some pronounced lumps in the neck of my old dog Leia and filled with dread we arranged to visit our vet.
Our concerns were well founded, she had Lymphoma and was given about 3 months to live - we were all devastated! We opted for a course of Steroids to help give her quality of life as the illness charted its deadly course through her body. The vet gave us expert opinion on how the condition would present/develop and he was right. Some months after the initial diagnosis, over a 12 to 18 hour period she went down hill rapidly. She became very very poorly, incontinent, vomiting and couldn’t stand, she also barely acknowledged we were there.
I had to do the dad thing as my family were distraught around her and scoop her up into my arms and with my wife, take her to the vets.
The vet put a cannula into her leg and as he administered the drug to end her life and suffering I made sure my eyes were inches from hers, with my hand gently stroking her as she passed peacefully away. I am an utter control freak and keep my emotions to myself, I spent the next week staring at a wall, I’d lost my very best, loyal friend and I hated it!
It’s at this time that kind folks trot out well worn cliches about rainbow bridges and the like. I know its helpful for some but I don’t hold with such sugary sentiments.
I am an ordinary fairly orthodox Christian, I’m not good at this Christian thing, I’m pretty much uneducated but I’ve read and studied my bible for decades. I’ve read about God’s original creation, how it was all ‘good’ that is before we made a mess of it. I also read about eternity, God re-creating that place, the new Eden where we will live and thrive as God would have us do in that new ‘good’ place.
The bible talks about animals but says not a lot about the eternal prospects of our furry pals, but I believe that my smelly, awkward, undershot, stubborn pal will meet me, when I, unafraid, step into the night and into the new heavens and earth - I’m convinced of this ‘good’ in that ‘good’ place.
I’m also an amateur musician, during Leias illness I wrote and produced a song about death, the elephant in everyone's front room. I used an Ai package for the visual and audio production but the lyrics, tune and sentiment are all mine, there’s a link below should you wish to view it.
https://youtu.be/Dv3rXB_cAvs?si=BeqvGaAFh5FATIAy
A few months have passed since these events and I’m now doing a portrait of her, I’m going to use some of her ashes in it, I’ve never done a pet portrait before, I hope it works. The picture is just the underpainting bit.
Thanks for reading/listening/looking.
Mark