Midnight
The dog that started it all
- Midnight was our first dog and came to us as a dumped stray at about six months old. We believe he was a solid black Flat-Coated Retriever, based on his appearance, proportions, temperament, and character, as is outlined by the FCR Society of America.
Some of our pet names for Midnight:
- Mutski
- My sweetie sweetie boy
- My Boy
- My Pal
- My Buddy
- My silky boy
- Mr. Velvetear
- Midnight Mutski boy
- your “Just a mut”
- Silly Mut
- Spoiled rotten mut
- Some of the great memories: (As remembered by Charles)
- • Walks with Mommy, he would hold Penny’s leash and take her for walks through the neighborhood in Houston.
- • Walks down to the bayou with Penny and Mommy.
- • Our trip to Arizona. The botanical gardens, Canyon lake.
- • Our trip to New Mexico and to the rock ranch down near Big Bend, TX.
- • He would see me off to work in the morning and chase after my van as I drove off.
- • He would greet me when I came home from work.
- • Any time he really liked his meals, or was anticipating something good was about to happen, he would rub the walls, bed, furniture. And after a particular good meal, he would flop down on the livingroom rug, and kick up his feet and rub around on his back.
- • One time while I was getting ready for work, Elnora made my lunch (Italian spaghetti) and set it in a container on the sink counter to cool before packing it. Elnora was in the bedroom with me, and Midnight was conspicuously missing from the bedroom. Next thing we notice is Midnight rubbing the walls and being very pleased with himself. You guessed it, he stood up and got the container off the sink, and had his breakfast early. We thought it was funny, and I took a sandwich to work.
- • He was a faithful companion who was always by my side wherever I went, he was there.
- • He was a boy who liked to help you do whatever it was.
- • One day Elnora was dragging tree limbs from the backyard to the curb. Midnight grabbed a limb and dragged it too.
- • He would go under the fence or walk out of the open gate and come knock on the front door to get in.
- • His little brown buddy (dog) from down the street would come to our house (up to the front door), to see if our puppies can come out and play. They would all charge out the door, then after a greeting, would sniff, pee, look around. Then they would come inside, and the Buddy would go home.
- • My walks with him through the neighborhood here in Leander the last few months of his life.
- • My favorite time of the day was when he jumped on the bed to wake me up with kisses, and cuddle with me.
- • Sometimes when he would bark at someone outside, I would tell him he was too loud, and to “whisper bark”. He would then just make a soft huff noise almost like someone clearing their throat, while slightly raising both front paws off the ground. He would make the same “whisper bark” if we were both still sleeping and he wanted to go out.
- • The way he would sit by the couch and lay his head on the seat to look at Elnora face to face when she was laying down.
- • I was always his “Interpreter”. Most of the time I could tell what he wanted. When I couldn’t figure out what he wanted or when he was excited about something, he would hug my leg and try to hump my knee. Sometimes he would make me laugh so much, I’d start to slide out of my chair.
- • He would sit next to me when I was at my desk. I would sandwich his face gently between my hand and desk drawer, and while rubbing his face, I would tell him he was my sweetie, sweetie boy.
Some of the great memories: (As remembered by Elnora)
- • One of our neighbors in Houston (David & Carol) had Abigail (Abby) a little white Maltese snowball of a dog who had no buddies at home to play with, so loved to play with Midnight. If their garage door was open and she wasn’t outside, he would go inside and scratch on the door to see if Carol would let her out to play. Carol said she still came looking for him after we moved and would go to our house sniffing around for Midnight.
- • He was so happy when we got Penny from the kennel, they played constantly. For the next week, he would greet and kiss her in the morning before he greeted us. It was like he couldn’t believe she was still here every morning.
- • When we traveled, he would always stay on my lap while Charles drove. (No matter how many thousand miles we went, he would be on my lap the entire trip). He would stay right beside us when we stopped, most likely because we believe he was dumped in our neighborhood when we found him.
- • On one trip when we were driving home from New Mexico, he got uncharacteristically quiet and was in the back of the van. When I checked on him and Penny, he had chewed a hole in the corner of my purse to get to a package of peanuts, which he throughly enjoyed.
- • When we first got him, we didn’t have a fence across the front of the yard. He would wander around close by in the neighborhood and sometimes he would bring things home. Some of the items were: a plastic cup, a tee shirt, and one time a paintbrush wet with white paint. I walked around the block looking for the owner of the paintbrush, but never found the owner. We thought it was funny that they probably never knew where they put their wet paintbrush.
- • Midnight use to grab Charles’ sock and want to trade it for food or a bone. He always knew the socks had more value than any other article of clothing on the floor.
- • He was quite a clown.
October 31, 2006
It’s now one day since our Midnight boy has died. I have to start writing this today because it will take me a few days to complete it. I’m not writing this for any morbid reason, but because my memory fades the older I get, and I feel he deserves to be remembered. I want to be able to recall and share in a small way all the goodness he has given us. Probably no one else cares to read this, but I have to do it for my sake.
- Our days begin as they always have with Midnight waking up Elnora (Mommy) between 5:30 and 6:30 to let him out in the morning, then about 8 am it’s time to wake up Daddy, so he gets his boost up on the bed by Elnora as he’s not been able to jump up on his own for about the last year.
First I’d like to recap the last few days of his beautiful life.
October 26, 2006 Thursday.
He’s sticking to his schedule of waking us up, but at a little later time as in the last few days. I believe this was the last morning he actually gave me a kiss when he got up on the bed. It was a very soft slow two or three small licks on my left cheek. Then we cuddled together on the bed as I petted, talked and cried to him. We can tell he’s sick but continuing to fight his various ailments of panting for oxygen, congestion, (perhaps pneumonia), and only able to sleep in short spans ranging from 1 to 10 minutes. His panting would subside and be more shallow for long periods of time when he was stationary and resting, but after he walks outside or room to room, or eats, he resumes panting for quite some time to catch his breath. He ate about half of his two scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast. He hasn’t eaten his noon turkey neck for several days now. He’s still sticking with me in my office and following me to the bathroom. He drank some of the tuna fish water from our tuna salad supper, but turned down any more food for the day. He continues to keep me company in my office until it is time for bed. The vitamin C powder that Elnora puts on his tongue and gums seems to help his breathing.
- October 27, 2006 Friday.
We haven’t been sleeping well for weeks now. Elnora is up early with Midnight and after he has been out, Mommy caries him up on the bed to greet me. He doesn’t kiss me, but raises his head and looks me in the eyes for about 30 seconds as if to tell me something. His eyes don’t seem to have the life and happy look about them as usual. We still cuddle, I talk and cry to him. We get up after a while. He’s still walking and drinking his preferred ice water, but refuses all foods. He sticks with me all day as my buddy.
- October 28, 2006 Saturday.
5am to 7am he laid out front in grass with Elnora siting by him. He thru up white foamy stuff a couple of times. Probably a good part of his congestion. Later that afternoon he thru up more white stuff. He’s still walking but weaker, and following his normal routine of being my loyal pal right by my side. Up, on the bed (with a boost from mom). His face and eyes look more happy and normal for him. We cuddle as usual before I get up. For breakfast Mom makes him chicken broth and squirts an ounce or so in by syringe. This afternoon he gets more chicken broth by syringe. This evening Elnora follows Dr. Falconer’s (the second D.V.M.) advice to feed him raw chicken or beef. Elnora blends up a batch of liquid food containing some raw chicken liver along with, parsley, yogurt, & brewers yeast. I go to bed, and Midnight uncharacteristically, lays in the front hallway.
The following is from Elnora’s handwritten notes of Saturday night - Sunday morning: (the times are adjusted for the time change this evening) About 2 am Midnight comes into our bedroom to sleep in the corner, breathing very rough. I give him an antibiotic and go into the kitchen to get some vitamin C. He comes into the living room and throws up (yellow bile). That seems to help his breathing some. I’ve got the vitamin C in my hand, so I go ahead and give it to him. He gets up a goes to the door, so I let him out in the backyard. (The grass is wet from dew). Midnight lays down on the wet cold grass, so I get blankets; pull him onto them and cover him up. (It’s in the low 50's and windy). Between 2 am and 4 am he slept (and laid) quietly on the blanket. I didn’t stay out with him, I thought he would rest better if I wasn’t there.
- Around 3 am the two (pups) dogs on both sides of our house start wining and barking, but Midnight doesn’t hardly stir. About 3:45 am Elnora hears me say quite clearly in my sleep, “Midnight needs water”. She comes in to tell me what’s happening, and finds me sound asleep.
- 4 am, Midnight raises his head and looks around, so I take him water and rub his ears. He drinks well, and is still breathing quiet.
I tell myself it’s time to let him go - I won’t force anything else down him. I think I really didn’t believe he would die until I saw how weak and limp he was when I drug him onto the blanket at 2 am. Still he’s showing no signs of distress. Just laying there breathing quietly.
I tell myself we were lucky to have him for (almost) 14 years. I’m glad he dug holes in George Orepeza’s yard and we wound up keeping him. He’s 88 years old and has had a happy, healthy life. Somehow that doesn’t stop the tears.
4 am - 5 am. Midnight sleeping quietly.
- 5 am. His head is up and he’s looking around, so I take him more water. He drinks well but his breathing is a little ragged. I go back inside. He gets up off the blanket to go to pee, then walks around the blanket and lays down on wet grass. I guess that’s where he wants to be and it’s not cold out, so I let him stay and I don’t cover him up. (That’s probably why he was sleeping in the front hallway, (early in the night) he wanted to be outside).
I break another promise - this time to myself - and I give him more vitamin C for his breathing, and I check to see there’s enough liver stuff for a small dose. I tell myself if he’s still around at sunrise I’ll give him some. I guess giving up isn’t so easy. Besides, as you said, he didn’t hate it all that much.
5 am - 6 am. Midnight sleeps some, looks around some, still laying in we grass.
6 am. It’s getting pink above the trees. Midnight rases head and looks toward the house. I give him another dose of liver shake and some water. He doesn’t care a lot for the liver, but he drinks the water OK. 6:30 am. He’s mostly awake now. (He’s still on regular time 7:30 am). Looks like he’s made it thru another night. He’s wet with dew, but doesn’t seem to care or mind. Again my hopes are up that he will get stronger today. I bring him some more water, his eyes seemed to plead with me to stop. So I just sat with him until you woke up.
October 29, 2006 Sunday.
- (For those of you reading this that don’t know me, I use an electric wheelchair). While Elnora was stretching my leg muscles, Midnight started looking toward the house, and could see through the windows I was in the process of getting up. He just gets up and heads to the back door to come in and get me up. His walking is more labored. Elnora carries him the rest of the way, and he’s up on the bed early this morning. We cuddle for about an hour and a half. He’s still so soft and silky. As he has done in the past he puts his head on my left shoulder, but this time he’s so close his nose touches my cheek. He seems quite content, and except for a broken heart, so am I. He stays at my feet as I get into my chair, then waits for me by the bathroom door as I shave and wash up. At this time Sunday morning our two other dogs Penny and Squiggles both throw up from the very small amount of raw liver shake that they ate the night before. After I wash up, Midnight and I both then went into my office. He tried to take a few short naps. After a while he got up and went into his favorite corner in the dining room to try and get some sleep. I would listen to his breathing and look in on him to see if he was actually sleeping, and he would raise his head to see me. I would tell him to get some sleep sweetie and don’t get up, I’m just checking on you. After a while I went into the bathroom. After I’m in there a while, he starts walking to meet me in the bathroom. As he’s walking through the kitchen, Elnora gives him more chicken broth with a syringe while he’s standing up. He then walks to the bathroom where I am to join me and lay in his favorite spot under the sink. It’s almost 3 pm now and after I shower and dress we go outside in the back yard and he lays in the grass next to the ramp, and I sit next to him. After a couple of hours, I came in to eat dinner and cry, then went back outside to join Midnight who stayed in the grass. Normally, he would have come in and laid in the dining room while we ate. Except for getting up one time to pee, he laid in the grass and only shifted his weight and moved in the grass. I sat with him in the grass until about 9 pm, then I moved to the patio so I could put my feet up on a chair and wrap a blanket around me as it was in the low 60's and cold to me. I talked to him until 11 pm then I told him good night I was going to bed, and Mommy was going to come stay with him. He was facing the stone wall with his head up looking around, and when I said good night and that I loved him, he turned his head to the right and looked over his shoulder at me with his big bright eyes. Elnora spent the rest of the night with Midnight.
The following is from Elnora’s handwritten notes of Sunday night thru Monday morning:
About 11 pm Charles gets ready for bed; and tells me to bundle up good, it’s cold out. 11:15-20, Charles is ready for bed, says: “I hate to go to bed, what if he dies during the night and I’m not there?”. I say, I think he’s a little stronger and feel sure he will make it to morning. I will take good care of him. Charles then goes to bed.
- 11:30 pm, I take blankets and go out to Midnight in the backyard. The ground isn’t wet with dew yet, but it’s a chilly clear night with lots of stars. I pull Midnight onto a blanket and give him a pillow to rest his head on. I tell him we are going to camp out tonight. He seems comfortable, but isn’t sleeping much, just dozing off.
- I think maybe he gets weaker at night because he doesn’t get any food, so I plan to give him chicken broth thru a syringe every few hours. (It’s not that hard to do; he has a gap in front because of a missing tooth. I can tilt his head up and shoot a little broth through that gap.) About 12 am I get him some. Then I lay beside him. He lays there breathing quietly dozing off some, then raising his head looking around. I pet his silky ears and talk to him when he’s awake.
- Around 1 am, I doze off. When I wake up at 1:30, Midnight has gotten up; walked around me and laid down about 5-6 feet away on the grass. The Afghan I had covered him with is still on him, so I turn over to face him and eventually doze off again.
- About 2 am I wake up and Midnight has moved about four feet further away. He’s still resting quietly, so I go in and heat chicken broth and give him a little more. He seems to perk up a little each time about an hour after the water and broth. So I’m thinking he’s doing some better. I think my sleeping out there may be why he’s moving away, so I go inside about 2:30 am and watch him from there.
- Charles wakes up, and asks about Midnight. I say he’s moved around and the wind has picked up, so I will watch him from inside the house. I drink tea and fold cloths in the livingroom and look out at him every 5-10 minutes. He’s doing the same. I give him chicken broth and water about every 2 to 3 hours. He drinks the water on his own.
- It’s about 6 am, and it’s starting to get light and warmer, so I uncover him and give him water. I remember that there’s film in my camera, so think that I will take some pictures of Midnight to surprise Charles with when Midnight gets better. I take some pictures, it’s a pretty day. Now it’s light enough I can watch him out the window from the rocker, so I start quilting a baby quilt.
- About 6:30 am, Charles wakes up again and asks about Midnight. I tell him he’s still breathing quiet and resting. Charles thinks I should bring Midnight inside. I say wait until his usual time to get Charles up, then he will start looking toward the house and I will steady him or help him in.
- Sure enough, about 7:30 am, Midnight get’s up, walks clear across the yard to pee in his favorite spot. He then walks toward the house; I steady him and help him up onto the patio. He walks about halfway in the doorway, then sinks down, wore out. I lay another sheet down over his side of our bed, and carry him in to cuddle with Daddy.
- October 30, 2006 Monday 7:30 am.
- Mommy lifts Midnight up on the bed to greet and get me up. As we always do, we cuddle, and I pet him, talk to him, and cry. We laid on the bed for about an hour, then he takes the initiative to raise up and try to get down off the bed. I grab his collar to hold him so he doesn’t hurt himself jumping down, and Elnora comes in and lifts him down. He then walks to and lays under my sink and waits for me to come in and shave. After I’m done washing up, his breathing is labored can’t seem to get up, so Elnora brings a rolling cart in and lifts Midnight onto a blanket on the cart. She wheels him through the house to go into my office which is on the opposite end of the house. He actually looks like he’s enjoying the ride. Elnora then lays him down to my right side next to me on the rug. Elnora squirts more chicken broth with whey protein powder and multi vitamins into Midnight for breakfast while he’s on my rug. After about an hour, to my surprise, he gets up from the rug and walks under my desk to lay at my feet in one of his favorite spots. There he breaths hard for a little while then he relaxes and he looks like he’s dozing on and off. After about a half hour, he gives signs that he wants water. Elnora brings him water, but he looks uncomfortable and doesn’t drink. He’s got the look like if he drinks, he won’t be able to go outside. Again, Elnora brings a rolling cart in and lifts Midnight onto a blanket on the cart. She wheels him through the house and out into the middle of the backyard and sets him in the grass. Again, he looked like he enjoyed the ride on the cart and was not scared at all. He looks content in the grass and after a couple of minutes, he drinks 16 healthy laps of water. It’s about noon now and the sun is out, it’s a beautiful day and starting to get warm. So Elnora puts Midnight on the cart again and moves him into the shade to the left at the end of the patio ramp. In the process of wheeling him over, the bumpy ride and slight incline of the ground cause him to slowly slide off the cart. Midnight doesn’t try to catch himself, and he has a look on his face like that was funny. Since he’s still on the blanket, Elnora slides him on the grass into the shade near the end of the ramp. After about a half hour, I tell him, I needs to go inside Pal, Mommy will be right back. I go into the restroom and then Elnora returns to sit with Midnight. About 30 minutes later, I call Elnora to help me into the shower. Midnight’s breathing continues to be labored, and his tongue is hanging out. Elnora comes in to help me for no more than 5 minutes. When she returns to Midnight, he has taken his last breath and has died.
- Midnights’ long happy, healthy, and loving life with us ends quietly in the backyard sleeping; like the first time I (Elnora) found him sleeping in the sun in our backyard in Houston. In the meantime he had lots of adventures with his Penny girl and later Squiggles too. He made friends everywhere he went and lived a happier more loving life than most people. And all the while, he kept us on a schedule!
