The Season of Ty Murray

We started the lovie dovie month of February by having to say goodbye to our dog Ty Murray, of 12 years.  I remember the day I brought him home.  Jarrod had always wanted a male American Bull Dog and if Jarrod went right, Ty went left. It was three days before the dog began to trust him.  Although they grew their relationship, Ty was my dog from the start. And for 12 years that dog followed me everywhere, he waited for me outside the bathroom door, he woke me up in the morning, we walked together, and we made kid lunches together- him waiting for the crust and a piece of banana as I made my morning shake. We were a team.

The companionship of an animal is one like no other. Where else in the world do we get to experience the true grace of God?  It is the most unconditional love the world has to offer.  And when their life ends, a part of you goes too.

It is funny how my kids coped with the news. Their first reaction was to be sad and then it quickly changed to we have to take him  for a car ride, drive past everything he knows, so he can see it all again.  They lined his bed with every single one of his toys so he could sleep with all of them on his last night home. Deanna said as she was going to sleep, I am going to tell all my friends how lucky they are to be alive because my dog has to go to heaven. Delaney told us that in 20 days, Ty would come back as another dog, not sure where she learned that but I did feel like she was giving me a piece of knowledge or comfort.

When morning came, they both insisted he take them to school so we drove them although they did not have a full goodbye, they just slipped out of the car and carried on about their day. I alerted the teachers ahead of time in case they showed signs of anger, sadness or anything out of the norm and both teachers reported back, it was a normal day.

As each day passed they had new topics of interest to discuss regarding Ty. Now that he is gone, who is going to protect us in the house, Deanna asked.  Delaney was quick to share the solution, because Daddy knows his Jui Jitsu he will use that, since Deanna can dance, she will twirl and kick the predator, Delaney will do a cartwheel and because I go to the gym, I will run.  (You do see the humor here right, everyone else is going to fight for our safety but I am going to run..)

They both noticed it was weird he was not greeting us when we came home, and Delaney pointed out if she drops a piece of food, there is no reason to quickly pick it  up, because Ty can’t get it. All their thoughts were statements, facts, with little emotion. It was just their way of dealing with it.

I, on the other hand was a mess. My chest hurt, my heart hurt and I felt like I was constantly on the verge of throwing up.  I asked Jarrod how he was handling it so well, going about his normal business. He gave me the same wise advice that an old family friend had given me earlier that day, before I even got to tell him about the passing of Ty.

Everything is a season, nothing is forever, but if you live in each season and appreciate it to the fullest, understanding it will change, you can move on to enjoy the next and remember what you loved about the one that just ended. I think we can all take something out of this playbook, live each day enjoying the moment, truly living in the moment, love living.

So, our last goodbye to Ty Murray will be a celebration of life.  We will do a toast, with the MacMurray Pinot Noir our good friends bought us in honor of Ty Murray and we will let 5 balloons go making wishes for Ty’s peace and thanking him for all his love. Each balloon will have a phrase about Ty; loves to ride the waves, snuggle master, our buddy, great chaser, and lastly best friend ever.