Good Bye Basel...We'll Miss You!

A few weeks ago, Nana and Pop had to say good-bye to their little doxie, Basel.  Kris, Pop and I had gotten the little guy for Nana as a birthday gift 5 years ago.  Doxies are known for having back problems (their stomachs weigh down their backs), and sadly, little Basel was stricken with a paralyzing effect which even after an expensive surgery could leave him crippled.  Nana and Pop struggled with the decision, but in the end knew that a life in a wheelchair for this rambunctious, energetic, feisty pup that loves to run and jump was not an option.

Nicky was pretty taken with Basel, probably because he was just his size, but to his dismay, Basel rarely shared the sentiment and instead would growl or nip at him.  After talking to Nana, we told him that Basel had to go to heaven, which really confused Nicky...how do you talk to a 4 year old about death?  So, we used the Lion King reference and told him it was like Simba's daddy and that Basel would not wake up and that he was in heaven with God and Jesus. 

There were a lot of "oh dat sad's" and "i kiss nana pop's" and "it be ok's"; followed by a lot of "i no want bitzer bailey got dead" and "i no want momma daddy got dead" and "i no want to got dead".  How do you respond to that?  We told him we would all do our best and tried to reassure him that he was safe. 

Now it seems that everything bad that could happen results in "got dead".  For example - if you walk out into the street and a car is coming you will "got dead" (good possibility); if there's a fire in the house "the smoke and fire will come and bitzer bailey will got dead"; if "you get sick you could got dead"; if "you jump off someting you could break youself and got dead" (as in Basel's case); etc.  I think it's time to find a book which better explains this whole thing, because somewhere along the lines we've gotten the little guy pretty scared!

It's so strange how animals become such a fixture in our lives...even if we try to deny it along the way and try to pretend they don't mean as much to us as we know they really do.  Nana and Pop - we love you and hope you guys (and Brie and Max) are doing ok without the little guy around.  We loved him very much and will miss seeing him on our visits.