Bella Bean Dog! Back from Africa for the Love of a Good Dog (Accra, Ghana to Denver, Colorado)

Bean in Nashville

Rolling Business Class again.

I must admit that rollin back in business class does make the hurt a bit easier to bare.  Sipping champagne in a fully recline position while stuffing my face with gourmet food gives me time to think about how amazing my dog is and how lucky I am to have found her.  Instead of dwelling on the fact that I am about to lose her I decide to think about all the awesome times and how much fuller she made my life.  She is 15 and old age is unavoidable.

I am back and I will get several beautiful weeks with my baby dog.  Taking a break from my trip and losing a chunk of money is nothing to me now.  I would have been absolutely heartbroken if I had not come back. 

Last Weeks with bella bean dog

Just going to give an extremely brief description of my 6 weeks back in the States (no more than two entries), as it is not much about travel and more about sorrow. 

The trip back was very comfortable as described before.  I guess if you have to travel halfway around the world to put you dog down it is made a bit easier in Business Class. 

It was wonderful to see the family when I got in.  Actually Nathan, my brother, was there to pick me up because Nalya, my niece, had been very sick and mom was at with her.  We went straight there and Miss. Nalya was doing much better.  I tried to be cool and thrilled to be at my sister’s place (and I was happy to see everyone) but all I could think about was that I have flown like 20 hours and put a hold on my trip in order to see my baby dog one last time.  

Bella had lost about ten pounds before I ever left and I would only have left her with family knowing the unlikelihood that I would see her again.  Her end is all old age nothing else.  Even if I spent 10,000 I would not be giving her more time.   She had lost another 15 pounds I would say and was it was just a matter of a short amount of time.   She did seem pretty happy but it was obvious it was time. 

The vet did tell me to try and put five pounds on her and if it could be done she might have another month or two.  That didn’t work, she kept loosing weight but it was wonderful to get those last couple weeks with her.  I pretty much never left her side and just gave her all the love I had and she gave it right back.  She knew too that time was up.

Bella Bean's 14th Birthday

Bella’s favorite place of the planet is the Lake House in Illinois, so I decided to try and get her there for her last days.  Even though she is in the last weeks of life when she sees that I am loading the car for a road trip she is a pup for a moment.  Her second favorite thing next to the Lake House is long road trips.  We even did an eight month road trip; just the two of us, back in 2008.

She was well at peace in her dog hammock in the backseat of her Outback.  I think she realized where we were going.  Like always about 30 minutes out she could smell the Lake and got very excited.  Until about 2 years ago she would have her head out the window, ears blowing in the wind when we would do this last bit of the drive.  That is not possible and she didn’t even try but I did pile the pillows so she could sniff that beautiful Southern air as we pulled in.

For the next day she had a grand time.  I had to watch her every step of the way and help her up and down but she was happy.  She had held on for this moment I think; just the two of us back at the lake.  I took her to the vet to organize her euthanasia and to get any comfort meds they thought would help.  He asked how long I wanted her (meaning days and no more than a week) and I said just give me a day so she can have visitors and one more day at the Lake.  He gave her a heavy-duty shot to make her more comfortable and we left.  Thankfully she has not been in pain anyway.  Her back-end has been going for months now and she is simply loosing feeling back there.

A X-Mas Bean

We only got one more full day and it was spent enjoying the sun and her getting all the love I could give; which was a lot.

The day we went to do it was very peacefully for her.  She slept most of the day and whenever someone would come to love on her she would sniff them from a laying position and back to sleep.  I have done most of my mourning and crying while she was still alive but man this sucks.  15 years is just not long enough. 

My dad drove us and I gave her a pill to chill her out but she really didn’t need it. She was content and ready to go.  I think if I had not taken her to the vet she would have gone on her own in the next day or two.

I sat in the backseat with her head in my lap and the windows down so her last memories would be of sweet Southern smells and her mama scratching her ears.  Who wouldn’t want that memory to take to Rainbow Bridge.   I am sure her Rainbow Bridge world is the South and leftovers from a Meat and 3!

I carried her in like a baby, said my good byes.  She was gone in seconds after the needle entered.  Peaceful as can be.

I love you baby girl.  We all love and miss you. 

For the next several weeks I spent with the family at the Lake.  It was actually really nice to have all that chaos going on around me.  Took my mind off the Bella Bean a bit.  We did have a great time. 

I did go down to Nashville for three days to see my peeps, eat good food and see if Nashville still had my heart.  It does.  Love that town.  I would like to move back on my return.

Best Bean Dog Qualities:
she wanted to be as fat as possible, she smiled, loved to bury herself in blankets, was scared of lightning, was a snuggle monkey, had to be touching a person at all times, never had to be on a leash, would take off running whenever she saw Cortney as we met her for our regular walks, she was always happy to see me, had to sleep under the covers and in bed with you, basically she was the best friend/dog a girl could ever have!