This is a fairly recent recollection, and I can vouch for the fact that it was the most heartbreaking I have ever experienced.This is is the story of Maxback and Kola.The most pathetic story i have ever seen and told.

To begin, however, I would like to provide you with some background information. Many years ago, I had a Maxback cross that I rescued from the pound. I named him Max. He was approximately three years old and was a scallywag of a dog. He was very cheeky, but I loved him, and he certainly loved me. We were best friends for many years and did everything together. He never passed judgment on me and was always there to be happy to see me return home. He stood by my side through some of the most difficult periods in my life.

The Loyal Companion

When he was getting close to the age of twelve, he was not really thriving any longer, and I had the impression that the end was drawing near. It was my self-centeredness that led me to believe that getting another puppy would be the most beneficial thing I could do to make my life easier when the inevitable time came. Max is the name I gave to my Rhodesian Maxback, which is a purebred breed.

Given that they were both males and that my previous dog pretty much ran the house and did whatever he wanted when he wanted, despite the fact that he was very well behaved, I was uncertain about how things would turn out.

I couldn’t have wished for more as the addition of youth seemed to give life to my older dog to the point that he became a pup again at 12 and just kept on keeping on year after year he seemed to be getting younger.I was sure he had six months maximum left in life when I got the new pup) and remember thinking no matter what happens I can’t see me loving any thing or anyone like I loved my first dog Maxback.

Maxback’s Final Days

When I knew it was time, he was 17 years old. We were on one of our daily walks when all of a sudden, my old friend yelled and just refused to walk any longer. I had to carry the bugger two kilometers home in the scorching sun, but I could not blame the old warrior because he had fought bone cancer for many years until his brittle bones finally crushed and became too painful to walk.

I arranged for my mother to take care of the younger dog, and I spent a whole week purchasing old mate scotch fillets and all of his other favorite goodies while he was receiving a sufficient amount of morphine for that particular week. Until that day arrived, we continued to hang out together as if it were the old days.

The next day, I took him to the veterinarian and carried him back to my house to be buried in the backyard. I didn’t believe it could possibly become any more difficult than that day.I made a complete mistake

A Devastating Turn of Events

Bringing my now 6 yr old “puppy “ home I didn’t want him to mope around so we made a rule to have our cry then all move forward and even in times when we felt sad we pretended we weren’t for Kola’s sake, and it worked both for us and the dog and we quickly put that behind us never forgetting him but not dwelling on the loss just remembering the joy he brought us.

Even before Maxback passed away, I had already had such a strong connection with kola, but after that, we were inseparable. He followed me everywhere I went, and I mean everywhere. kola was so well behaved that he didn’t require a leash since he always followed me.

One day, I was traveling through the hills with kola, and it was a terrible morning for driving. The fog was so thick that you couldn’t see the road in front of you. I knew that I should have pulled over, but I was so close to where I was going that I continued driving. “Bang” I awoke the next thing I knew, and the firefighters were removing me from my vehicle so that I could have a look at what was still there.

The Miracle of Kola

I recall yelling at the ambulance workers in an uncooperative manner, asking to know where kola was since I was certain that he had to be dead because I had come so close to being one myself. We were unable to convince your dog to leave your side when we arrived, but we were able to get him into a car and take him to the veterinarian.

The driver of the ambulance looked me in the eye and said, “Your dog is fine.” He was sitting next to the car when we arrived. For a little cut, he required only five stitches, and that was all. I was in intensive care for several weeks. Don’t ask me how he managed to get that done.

It took me a very long time to recuperate, but when I did, it was only because kola encouraged me to go for an increased number of walks and to participate in 100-meter sprints with me I always had a head start, but he always won lol. After everything that we had been through, he was just the best dog in the entire world.

Kola’s Final Moments

After receiving a diagnosis of the same dreadful illness that took the life of my previous dog, he gave kola a prognosis of only three months to live. I felt heartbroken when this happened twenty months ago, but I am relieved to report that the courageous young man beat the odds and did it gracefully until about a month ago, when even though he was thinking he might live forever, it happened when he was doing nothing at all. A loud yelp came out of his mouth, and he stared at me as if he were pleading for assistance.

He was simply lying on my bed, and up until that point, he had a minor limp, but he just kept on going. He was experiencing a great deal of happiness right up to that day, and it occurred so unexpectedly. Nothing could have adequately prepared me for that day, despite the fact that I had been informed that he had three months to live close to two years before. On that particular day, he did two unforgettable things that will remain ingrained in my memory forever.

Now I don’t know how many of the readers would have had the pleasure of giving their pet dog horrible tasting tablets over any length of time, or if kola was unique but there was not a place anywhere you could conceal a tramadol tablet within food that he wouldn’t see or smell or however he knew what you were up to and it didn’t mater if you had the most delicious smelling liver treats in the land he would see your plan from miles back and being a big strong dog.

Kola’s Final Act of Love

Let’s just say we had some fun times early in those two years with the feeding of the tablet ritual and it was getting harder and harder each day to administer as he became more aware what I was doing and more skilled at avoiding tablets he had no idea they were what took pain away he just knew they tasted horrible.

I thought I would give him one last tablet so that his last few hours would be as pain free as possible. However, as usual, he saw what I was doing and spat it out. I didn’t want to hold him down and force it down his throat because I was afraid of hurting him even more, so the tablet remained on the floor where he had left it.

With only a few hours left until we went to the veterinarian, I laid down on the quilt with kola, just being there with him as if he had been there with me so many times before. As I pleaded with him (as if he could comprehend what I was saying), he glanced at me, then at the tablet, then pushed out his tongue, inhaled it, swallowed it, and then looked back for my approval. He saw that it made me weep, and he saw that it disturbed me.

Kola’s Absence and Lasting Impact

I guarantee that it was typically such a struggle that I could not believe it; it caused me to cry even more, but I still managed to give him a hug. Bd measured him. When my friend came to give me a lift to the veterinarian, this dog, who had been in so much pain that he had not moved from the quilt all day, got up, trotted to the front door, and then went out to the car. While we were all discussing the most effective way to lift the tender body into the car, he jumped all by himself into the back of the wagon and sat there waiting for me as if he knew what was going to happen.

I’d always promised myself that the very minute he stops “enjoying life with some discomfort” as opposed to “battle through every minute in constant pain” I would do the right thing and retire old mate with dignity while he was still strong and healthy so. I took him straight to the vet and held his head in my arms until the lethal injection peacefully took him away. He was The one thing that gave me a reason to get out of bed each day. He taught me so much and I can never replace him.

Navigating Grief in the Silence of Loss

This past month has been really difficult; I never thought my heart could ache like this; I really didn’t think it could. I’ve lost friends and family in the past, but nothing has shaken me to my core like the loss of kola. I refuse to wash his jackets and quilt just because the smell alone brings me so much comfort. However, I know that one day I will have to let it go, but for now I don’t want to.

Wow, the house is quiet when I get home from work. I’ve never experienced heartache like this before, and I doubt that I ever will. However, I try to remind myself of all the fun times we had together. It helps to cheer me up. I’ve never felt heartache like this before, and I don’t think I ever will.