The first time that I met Traveler, a strapping, young Alaskan Malamute, was 10 years ago. My son Eric was working at a Kennel and had absolutely fallen in love with this handsome dog. Traveler was being fostered by the kennel after being rescued from Alabama, a long journey to say the least.
Eric had been telling us about Traveler for quite sometime, and I knew that his heart had melted for this dog. It was time to meet him. Once we arrived at the kennel, Eric took me upstairs to a huge room that was used as an indoor run for the dogs that were boarding there. He took me by both arms, moved me to the wall, and said ‘you wait here’. . .when he came back he had Traveler with him. He let Traveler off the leash, and this gorgeous wolf-like creature ran full speed all the way across the room, turned around...and came directly to me, put both of his paws on my shoulders, and gave me an amazing ‘Welcome”! I was in awe!!! He was just beautiful. . Full of life, and ready to go. It was then that I knew he would become part of our family. . . and so he did.
Not long afterwards, Eric & Sarah formally adopted him.
Eric had a huge run installed in his garage, so that Traveler would not have to be crated at first when no one was at home. On one occasion I can remember that Eric put him in the run, and we went out for awhile . . .when we returned, Traveler was in the garage, out of the run, just looking at us, almost to say ‘where’ve you been?’. Somehow he had squeezed under the gate. Another time, Eric and I went to an estate sale right in the neighborhood, Traveler was in the house now, since Eric felt he was now used to things. When we returned a short time later, there, in the driveway, was Traveler to greet us! Eric said, very nonchalantly, ‘hey, look, it’s Traveler’...then, ‘OMG, how did he get out?’!!!!! We jumped out of the car, and Traveler just walked right up to Eric, like nothing had happened….once again, ‘hey, where’ve you been?’!! This time getting out through the bathroom window that was open.
One incident was very scary and pretty much laid the groundwork for Travelers life. I was at work when I got a call from Sarah, she was in a complete panic. She said that there was blood all over the house and that Traveler was hurt. I rushed over there, and when I walked in, Sarah was white as a ghost…...I couldn’t believe my eyes….the living room had blood spattered all over. When I walked into the bedroom, the site was unbelievable!!! There wasn’t a surface in that room that wasn’t covered in blood! It was pooled on the bed….smeared on the furniture and walls…..’My GOD, what happened here?!!’. If I was law enforcement, I would have come to the conclusion that a murder had taken place. Sarah said that when she walked in, she thought that Traveler had killed her cat, but she soon found out that wasn’t the case at all. The window in the bedroom was broken from the inside. We figured that Traveler must have seen something outside, and not realizing his own strength, landed his paws on the window and broke it. The glass sliced his paw and cut his tongue...he panicked, and began to run all over the house…..hence, all the blood! Before we cleaned up, Sarah and I took Traveler to the vet, but there wasn’t much that they could do for him, he had to just heal.
It was clear at this point that Traveler had anxiety issues.
Eric needed someone to watch Traveler everyday. . .that’s where my Mother comes in. At first, she was totally opposed to the idea, since she was never an animal person. I never had a pet as a child, aside from gold fish that I assume got flushed at some point. But once she met Traveler, and she saw just how gentle and sweet he was, it was instant love. Traveler loved her just as much. I honestly think that Traveler was my Dad reincarnated. . .they had the same gentle ways. . .the same ‘widow’s peak’ hairline. . .and I truly think that he was here to take care of my Mom (I even asked Traveler one time, looking him straight in his beautiful brown eyes, if he was my Dad).
Traveler came to our house almost everyday for 10 years. . .and for 10 years. My Mom took wonderful care of him…..always thinking that he needed more to eat...and of course more treats. It was an ongoing discussion between her and Eric about how he was getting exactly what he should eat.
Traveler now had two homes . . .and all of us loved him dearly. He loved when all of us were together. . .he would ‘Roo’ in delight!!. . .WE, were his pack!
As the years went by, Traveler slowed down. . .as we all did. My Mom was now in her 90’s, and getting around became more difficult for both she and Traveler.
Recently, it became obvious that Traveler was having issues with his hind quarters. Eric said that it was a nerve problem. He was put on pain medication and Eric even tried laser treatments, but to no avail. . .Traveler was getting worse. Even relieving himself was almost impossible.
We all knew what the inevitable was, but we all tried to put it out of our minds, after all, this was Traveler, our sweet and gentle puppy, he would always be with us.
But, one day just two weeks ago, right after Eric and Sarah brought their new baby son, Henrik, home from the hospital, Eric had made the difficult decision to euthanize Traveler. It was probably one of the hardest things that he ever had to do. The next day was full of tears for us all, even though we knew it was right. That night, Eric brought Traveler to our house to say 'Goodbye'. . .between the tears we gave him as many hugs and kisses that we could, not to mention treats. Before they left, Eric told Traveler to say 'I Love You'.....and in his heartwarming way, Traveler lifted his head up and gave us 3 wonderful 'Roo's'. . .an 'I Love You' that we'll never forget.
Eric made arrangements for his friend Mari, a veterinarian, to come to their house. With his head in Eric’s lap, Traveler went to sleep. Eric called me, and simple said ‘he’s gone’.
Eric chose a beautiful spot for Traveler…..next to a tree, in their front park like yard. Jerry and Eric readied the spot. I gave an embroidered white sheet to wrap Traveler in; my Mom gave a bag of his favorite treats; Jerry put in a hat that he wore; Sarah gave an autumn flower; and Eric put down hay, added his stuffed hedgehog to go with him, a little bit of cheese too (his very favorite), then wrote a note to Traveler to take on his final journey.
. . .he then laid his beloved friend to rest.
Traveler
2011
'Always Remembered. . .Always with us.'
