Behind the Digital LensMusings of an Amateur Photographer

23rd Apr, 2020 Goodbye to my Buddy

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2006 my wife and I took a ride into South Oklahoma to see Autumn leaf colors and maybe get some photos. It was a bright sunny day, and we did get a few photos, and stopped at a nice place to eat a late lunch. On our way home we passed through McKinney, Tx and decided to stop at their Third Monday Trade Days. Maybe not as popular as Canton’s First Monday Trade Days, but popular nonetheless; it was a good hide around the place.

Before we left I asked if we could stop by and see the puppies, an area we passed by previously, so we walked back over there. There weren’t a lot of dogs, and I don’t remember what breeds there were because my eye was “snatched” by three little Schnauzer mix puppies – two salt and pepper boys and one sable colored boy. I picked up all three but my heart zoomed in on the little sable colored one. Strong-willed, cute, and he had gorgeous coloring. I just couldn’t pass this little fellow up. I know, I know, not a place anyone should buy a dog, especially a puppy, but this little guy…I just couldn’t help it. So, for the whopping price of $150, we brought home an eight week old Schnorkie puppy that we named Bentley. This little puppy ended up with a BIG name: Bentley Astin Martin Robertson-Scott. [Yeah, I know, but it was a cute name to go with the cute dog.] Unfortunately, the little fellow caught a major cold that took months to cure. And, after that, he was a pretty healthy dog.

How our world changed with him. He wasn’t a destructive puppy, but he did have his moments like all puppies do. He certainly kept us laughing. Whenever my wife would scold him he would sit down in front of her and “talk back” to her. Of course, keeping a straight face was incredibly hard and we weren’t always successful. He loved making us laugh, and it usually involved some toy; he was definitely a “play boy”. My ex-wife liked calling him “Goofy Boy”, and I suppose he was.

When we divorced, it was hard on all of us. We had five dogs at the time. Bentley, my dear boy, did his best to comfort me, staying close by and “kissing” my face often. Most times he would sleep around my feet or under the bed, but when we separated he started sleeping close to my left leg. Occasionally I would wake up to find his head on my chest or shoulder.

Hard times followed over the next several years, but he was always close by making sure I was okay. His mommy, my ex, came to visit him [and one of our other dogs that I have] at least once a year and each time he saw her, he was ecstatic. He really loved his mommy.

He was a charmer. Oh, how he loved women! And somehow they always really liked – or loved – him. He loved kissing them! And durn him, he had a lot of girlfriends. Guys were okay, but he just loved women, probably because they reminded him of his mommy. When we were out walking and he’d see his girlfriends he would just get so excited and wiggly and would pull me along until he got to them. And they were always so happy to see him. I was just so much “fodder”.

And then, one week after his 13th birthday in September he started running a high fever, so off to the vet we went. And he had to stay for a few days. Some antibiotics, fluids, and an X-ray later he had some suspicious spots on his spleen. A CAT scan confirmed cancer of the spleen. My heart sank. So, off to the oncologist for him for chemotherapy. Sadly, this type of cancer is almost always terminal, so I knew this was going to end badly at some point.

Amazingly, he did quite well in the beginning and was always happy to head into his chemo treatments and see all the ladies there. Mr. upbeat and happy spun his charms just like always and captured the hearts of more women, including his oncologist. And you would never know he had cancer and was undergoing chemo. In November he went into partial remission. He felt good and was sassy and playful and always loving. And he loved to tell me and anyone else that would listen all about it. A new protocol was introduced and he was holding his own over the holidays. I was always watchful, though. Just in case.

The new year brought little changes in his attitude and condition. It was hard to believe that he had cancer. January and February passed with only a few concerns – his blood levels were still low, which was persistent throughout this. And then it was March, and I was looking forward to taking him out to a park where we could just hang out and maybe play a bit. It wasn’t to be, however.

March 3rd started out much as any other day and we went through our day with no problems. In the afternoon while getting the mail we came across a woman walking her dog and Bentley started charming her, barking and wiggling. That was the last time I heard him bark. That night, though, while getting ready for bed, he collapsed. He just went down on to his stomach, and when I asked him what was wrong he gave me a confused look and I helped him up to his feet and made sure he wouldn’t collapse again. He started to walk off and I noticed his hind right leg was not cooperating and he stopped and held it up. I went over and picked him up and carried him too the couch and talked with him for a few minutes and then took him to the bed room and laid him on the bed. He took his bedtime medicine with no problems, and went to sleep. Sometime during the night, though, he got up and got off the bed, probably to get a drink. I woke up to find him on the floor next to my side of the bed; I suppose he wasn’t able to get back up on the bed, even though there was a way for him to do so without having to jump. I put him back up on the bed and we went back to sleep, with him sleeping next to my shoulder – a favorite place for both of us.

Wednesday was a quiet day. We went for several walks and he did his business with no problems, but he wasn’t himself. No barking at people or other dogs. It was a chemo day and he did well, but they also noticed that he didn’t bark. However, he did give his oncologist kisses on her hand; apparently those were the last ones he gave to anyone, including myself. That night he didn’t eat, but he did take his medicine, although not exactly happy about it.

On Thursday I took our other dog to the vet to board for a few days because I wanted to spend some alone time with him. Bentley and I didn’t do much that day, but I spent a lot of time sitting in my chair with him watching tv. He got up a couple of times and jumped up on the couch to lay on his pillow. When we went out for our walks, he was again not quite himself, but did his business as usually and then wanted to come back in right away. He just had no energy, which was becoming very obvious and very concerning. And that night he refused to take his medicine and I didn’t force it. He slept all night without getting up.

Friday morning, he seemed worse, but jumped up on the couch on his pillow. When the oncologist called to check on him [they usually called two days after his chemo] I told them about his “episode” and that he refused to take his medicine. After a discussion they told me he needed to take one of his pills and to call them back afterward. When I tried to give it to him, he tried to bite me, something he had never done before, and it was startled. However, I noticed his gums were white, so when I called the oncologist back they asked me to take a picture of his gums and text it to them. Alarming, to say the least. The called and told me to bring him in in an hour for a blood transfusion – or two. He would have to stay for several days to stabilize. In we went and after the usual preliminaries, the took him off to the ER to start his transfusion. Once they got him set up I went back to let him see me, and I left and told him I would see him soon, probably later that afternoon. I left and drove to the vet in order to give them directions for Lily’s haircut [the vet is just down the street so on my way home.] While there I got a phone call from the oncologist. They did a blood test before the transfusion and Bentley had no neutrophils. He was basically bleeding internally and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Bentley’s journey was over.

The vet sent a tech out to get him from the oncologist; she realized there was no way I would be able to drive there safely to get him. While I waited in one room they set him up in another room and then I went over to be with him. Although he was probably bleeding into his brain, he was still very aware of what was happening. They left us alone for a few minutes, and we said our goodbyes. I told him no more needles, no more photos, and he was going to be feeling really good in just a little bit. The vet, her tech, and I laid our hands on him while he passed, letting him know he wasn’t alone. We all cried. The dynamic charmer with the loving personality gently left this world and crossed the Rainbow Bridge on March 6th, 2020 around 1:30 PM.

What a blessing to my life he had been!

27th Aug, 2016 National Dog Day

Yesterday [August 26th] was National Dog Day.  Of course, I didn’t take any photos of my dogs yesterday; I usually take quite a lot of photos of them and post them to Facebook, but I haven’t lately and what I have taken have been on my phone.  But today I grabbed my camera and took a few photos of Bentley.  Unlike Lily who likes to go outside and sit in the sun long enough for me to get good photos of her, Bentley usually decides that if I am talking to him with camera in hand, he thinks he should get up and come up to me.  Sometimes I can get him back into position, but most times not.  So, Bentley is my challenge dog.

Here are two photos of him, one taken in 2011 and one taken today; one after a haircut and taken outdoors, and one where he needs a haircut and taken indoors.

No matter how he looks, though, I love taking photos of him because of his expressions: quizzical, serious, comically goofy and everything between.  I just wish I had a camera with me all the time to capture those.

Pets make great photographic subjects, when they hold still.  Starting when they’re young, get them used to seeing a camera in front of your face, and don’t get discouraged when that cute “pose” is lost – there will be another along in the near future.  Understand, however, not every puppy/dog or kitten/cat likes to have their photo taken, especially with flash.  I had one dog that hated having her photo taken and let me know it.  It took years before she decided to ham it up for the camera, but it took a lot of patience and encouragement on my part to get her to decide that a camera wasn’t so bad after all.  With pets of all kinds, be patient and be quick, and don’t expect them to hold still.

Don’t wait until a “National” day to celebrate your pet.  They celebrated you every day.