In the mourning

My mum rang this evening to tell me that they had to take Chi'na (my dog) to hospital. They're not sure what's wrong with her so the vets are running blood tests and stuff to check it out. She should be out tomorrow, depending on what it is, but they're not sure at this stage. My mum says that if it is anything serious that needs heavy duty medication or an operation, then she and my dad have already made the decision to put her down because at 11 years old she's not going to last much longer.

Memories of my pup and I are welling up inside me. I've had Chi'na for almost a decade (we got her when she was two) so she has been a significant part of my young adulthood. Where Scruffy was my adolescence, Chi'na spanned my teenage to adult years. I remember having tickle fights with her, trying to make her fetch a ball and watching her drool on other dogs we met. She was a stubborn sniffer, inquisitive and impossible at times but always affectionate and slobbery. I remember Rachel teaching her how to 'kiss'.

Chi'na is the only thing I really miss about home. I mean, I can ring my mum and dad up any time I want but I can't have a relationship with Chi'na unless there are walkies involved. She liked the big ovals where she could run around and sniff lots of things and follow small children. She hated going down the slide at the playground. She liked swimming even less.

I was going to get her a new walking harness, but I guess I'll just wait and see.