Bubba the Great

Eleven years ago my mom, Leah, and I took a trip to pick up a present for my dad. His present happened to be furry with four legs. When we got home my dad was working out in the backyard. When he saw us he walked over to greet us and that is when he met is new son for the first time. For the first few days, we toyed with names - Lincoln, Goliath, and Bubba. After much consideration we decided Bubba suited him just fine.

As a puppy, Bubba was very clumsy. My favorite memory is of me setting him down on a hill, him losing his balance, and rolling all the way down it. Thankfully, he was a nice plump fur ball so nothing seemed to hurt him. Over time, his ears and paws where the first to grow. Often, he would be walking with his head down and step on one of his ears, causing him to do a little flip. After a few training lessons Bubba turned out to be a very laid back, well behaved dog. Guests would comment on how funny his personality was because it matched my dad's so well. In the later years, Bubba is known to greet guests then go back to his shower and sleep a little bit before coming back out and checking out things around the house. Bubba is my dad's pride and joy. The son he never had.

This morning I received a call from my mother telling me that in the middle of the night she heard a rustling in the bathroom. When she turned on the light she found Bubba alert, but struggling to get to his feet. His hips are finally starting to give. From the beginning my dad has said that the day Bubba starts to loose his quality of life, we will put him to rest.

With my dad at work my mom asks if Ed (my dads best friend) and I would go to the house and start digging a grave. We haven't made our decision yet but we know that the time is not far for Bubba to leave us. With freezing weather upon us we knew that we needed to start digging before the ground gets too hard. So today, at 10:00 Ed and I broke ground on what will be Bubba's final resting place. I did so good at not crying, with Ed beside me I didn't want to burst into tears and make us both feel uncomfortable. We talked about cooking and after an hour, we were finished. Bubba sat in the yard enjoying the fall weather not a care in the world as to what we were doing.

Tomorrow at 12:30 the vet will come and give us advice on what is in Bubba's best interest. I ask that you keep my family in your prayers as we are about to lose a very important member of our family. We will miss him very much.