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Shamrock

I just read your book “Rescuing Sprite” and it hit an emotional chord in me. Our dog of 12 years, Shamrock, was a Jack Russell Terrier that Santa Claus blessed our son with when he was 5. He lead a great life with us until cancer finally took its toll and we had to put him to sleep in May 2007. We took him on our RV trips on weekends and vacations. He even went with us to Disneyworld and stayed in the RV at the Fort Wilderness campground. We spent a few hours in the parks early in the day, but took much of the afternoon to let Shamrock enjoy Fort Wiilderness.

We too struggled with Shamrock’s last days and the guilt of ending it too soon. It was a very sad Sunday afternoon when my wife came to me sobbing after taking him for a final walk. She could see he was suffering and although it broke her heart said it was the end. We took him to a local vet hospital that was opened on weekends and off hours. We said our good byes and left him to finally be at peace.

Just two days before, knowing Shamrock’s days were limited, I had gone to the local shelter and picked out a puppy. She was supposed to be a Jack Russell mix. Unfortunately she was already spoken for, but I assured the staff that I would adopt her if the other family backed out. I was there bright and early the next morning to see if the puppy was picked up but the staff told me the family had not come back or called. Since she was so young they did not want to have her in the shelter over the weekend. I repeated that I would take her. The shelter manager agreed that if the family did not call or come by 4:00 pm that we could adopt her. My wife and I were there at 3:30 and the family still had not contacted the shelter so the manager decided since we obviously loved the puppy so much that he would let her go home with us.

We picked up my son at work in our RV later that afternoon with our new puppy so we could surprise him. He had been depressed over Shamrock’s declining health. Seeing her immediately cheered him. He couldn’t wait to introduce her to Shamrock. She was very “bubbly” so my son decided she should be name Brooke. Unusual for a dog but we agreed. Sham seemed to like her and loved sniffing this new puppy. Sadly he could not really enjoy this new addition as his health was too far gone.

Although she could never replace him, she was able to fill the void left by Shamrock’s death. We had him cremated and this Spring will create a memorial garden of Shamrocks and sprinkle his ashes there. We still call our new dog Shamrock out of habit as he will always be in our memories.

Thank you for “Rescuing Sprite”.

 

Howard from NY