Skip to Main Content
Women of the ELCA
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
  • Ministry & Action
    • Discipleship
    • Justice
      • Human Trafficking
      • Racial Justice Advocacy
      • Racial Justice Advocacy Network resources
      • Domestic Violence
    • Membership
    • Stewardship
      • Thankofferings
      • Faithful Friends
      • Katie’s Fund
      • Gift Planning
    • Special Initiatives
      • Raising Up Healthy Women & Girls
      • Dear Friend in Christ
    • Scholarships
      • Lutheran laywomen
      • Lutheran Ordained Ministry
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Events
  • About
    • History
    • Executive Board
    • Staff
    • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
« Back to WELCA Blog

A good life ends
by Terri Lackey

7.26.2012
|
Post

Our dog Louie died the other day. He was ushered into the next life (whether that is dark silence or heaven’s meadows) with the help of a veterinarian’s needle. His death was tough on my husband and me because we cared for him for nearly 15 years. And he was sweet, not a mean bone in his body, unlike the bones in his terrier sister Spunk. He was a hound, and my husband called him the Caruso of dogs; though he had to revise that to Pavarotti as his audience got younger.

Louie was old. He reached a stage where he needed our help to get up the stairs. He was becoming incontinent; he was mostly blind and deaf. One recent morning when rousing the dogs from sleep, I could not get Louie up. So I sent my husband down to fetch him. Finally outside, Louie was dazed and disoriented. He wouldn’t drink; he wouldn’t eat the treats he loved so much.

As I left for work, I feared I would never see him again. And I didn’t. My brave husband took him to the vet that morning where we learned he had a high fever and infection, probably from cancer that invaded his old body. The vet said perhaps she could give him a few more days, but why? It’s best to err on the side of too early, she said, than too late. My husband concurred, and stroked Louie as the doctor administered the shot that would end his pain and his life. That end, my husband said, was easy for Louie: a relaxing of his body and a final flop of his tail.

I was too much of a coward to be there for Louie’s last minutes, but oh how I hope when my end is near, someone will be strong enough to put me out of my misery. Many of our loved ones go through horribly slow deaths. They float in an in-between time where they are not fully alive, but not yet dead. I don’t want to be that person; I doubt many of us do.

Could I administer the “shot” that sends someone I love into the next life? No. Could I sanction it? If that time ever comes for me or someone I love, I hope I could at least have the option. How do those of you who have watched a loved one suffer a slow death feel about humanely ending another life?

Terri Lackey is managing editor of Gather magazine.

Share

Categories

  • Post (1,160)
  • News (283)
    • Gathering 2021 (9)
    • Triennial Convention 2021 (6)
  • Devotions (57)
Women of the ELCA
1 Mar
Women of the ELCA
@WomenoftheELCA

How do you stay connected in uncertain times? We offer you links to videos and resources in our newsletter. conta.cc/3pSg8n7 pic.twitter.com/7BRbJATC3T

Expand reply reply retweet retweet favorite favorite
Back to home

8765 W. Higgins Rd.

Chicago IL 60631

800-638-3522

[email protected]

Stay In Touch

Sign up for the WELCA Newsletter

Explore WELCA
  • Ministry & Action
  • Daily Grace
  • Resource Library
  • Events
  • Blog
  • News
  • About WELCA
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Photos
Explore Publications

Bold Cafe

A Lutheran perspective for women of Christian faith or any woman who is interested in how faith relates to the issues facing women today.

Gather Magazine

A mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith.

Cafe Podcast

Subscribe to our podcast:

Click to subscribe

© Copyright 2021 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
© Copyright 2021 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.