Thread by @DavidPepper

Thread.

A love story.

These are two of our pets. On the left is one of our dogs, Manchi. On the right is our cat, Dinker.

My wife Alana had Dinker for 4 years before we got married. We got Manchi about a year before we got married.

When we moved in together,

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…let’s just say it was a challenge.

Although he doesn’t bite, Manchi is a very feisty dog. Barks at everything, no matter how big or small. But Dinker would also fight back fiercely, hissing & trying to scratch if he came close

So we had to work hard to keep them separate

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Sometimes, if Dinker was in the wrong room at the wrong time, the chase became so intense we worried one of the two might have a heart attack. Barks and squeals and hisses exploded in the room and we ran in to break it up.

So we just kept them apart. Not just different rooms

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But different floors.

Alana (who’s on the local Humane Society Board) was convinced they could get along

I didn’t believe it could happen.

So for years, she patiently worked to figure out how they could get along. Persistence

First, it was getting them into the same room

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They’d hiss and bark. Slowly it became a stare down, with a few blow-ups. Then it calmed down.

Then it was getting them within feet of each other. Hisses, stare downs, then calm.

Then within inches.

Took years but Alana got it done.

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In recent years, they became friends. (Along w our other dog, Buddy, but he was never as feisty).

Would comfortably be in the same room together. Sleep in the same bed sometimes. And Manchi and Dinker especially built a clear connection.

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Dinker has had heart problems for several years. Our vet did a wonderful job helping her get through it…almost to the point we forgot about it

But last Monday, amid a normal morning, Dinker was hit by a major blood clot. Like a stroke

The way we knew was that suddenly…

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Dinker—walking around normally at one moment—could no longer move her back legs. She was trying to pull herself along the rug with her front legs, but couldn’t move the latter half of her body.

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I was rushing to get ready to go to the office, and didn’t notice it. But I remember seeing Manchi next to her, watching her (and now I realize he was watching her struggle). Five minutes later, it was obvious something was wrong

Manchi stayed right at her side. He knew too.

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We called our vet minutes later, put her in her carrying case, and I drove her down to our vet as fast as I could—but had little doubt when I left the house this was the last time the family would see Dinker.

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At the vet, they immediately confirmed it was a major blood clot, and by that time, the entire back half of Dinker’s body was cold and she could hardly breathe. It was painful to watch. As I pet Dinker on the table, the doctor euthanized her.

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It’s been a tough week since, especially for Alana. Dinker has been with her through good times and bad, and has been with us throughout our time as a family.

Here is an imprint of her paw print the vet was kind enough to send us. We will get her ashes soon.

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But back to the love story….Manchi is feeling the loss as much as anyone. Usually energized and happy, he has been moping around the entire week. He saw her struggle, and stood by her side. It’s clear he misses her.

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The photo from my first tweet? This is Manchi this morning, standing outside the room where Dinker spent the most time. (The doorway is just to the right). He keeps standing there, looking in, standing watch, but won’t go inside. He never did this before.

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Anyway, our whole family misses Dinker, including the feisty dog who used to fight with her like cats and dogs :)

I don’t want to politicize this in any way, but at this fraught time in our history, as I watch Manchi react to Dinker as she suffered & now after she’s passed—
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—the love, the compassion, the somber mourning of loss—despite their initial rough start, I keep wondering….

What the heck has happened to human beings?!?

END