R.I.P. Bagel Cabanban - Jan. 8, 1999 - Feb. 12, 2009On Friday, I spent part of the evening crying on the phone with one of my aunties in California. They had to put down their family dog, Bagel, on Thursday because of gallbladder stones and a broken hind leg.
I first met Bagel in the summer of 2005 while visiting my cousins in Los Angeles. She was a beagle mix that my two little cousins, Finina and Regina, picked out from a local shelter. They said she was so well-trained when they brought the 6-year-old dog home: she knew not to mess on the carpet, settled onto blankets they laid out for her and loved to be petted. Her previous owner must have taken good care of her, they said.
My auntie said before Bagel passed, she'd wonder why pet owners would get so upset when their cat or dog died. But then she experienced it and found out why.
She told me she was not giving or throwing away any of Bagel's things. She wondered why the shelter never told her Bagel had medical problems. She said she was trying to be strong and not cry in front of her two girls, one who wakes up in the middle of the night crying for Bagel.
I've never experienced a pet death, but I told my aunt at least Bagel lived a good four happy years with them. Who would have known what would have happened if they never adopted her out of the shelter?
Bagel's passing reminds me of this quote about people coming into our lives. I think it can apply to pets coming into our lives as well:
"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
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