Farm Fresh Blog

Some deaths are tragic, but other deaths cap off the end of a good life. When I was a crime scene investigator, I recall a man who died in the manner most men would want to go - no, not that way. He was an elderly man who simply dropped dead while piddling in his garage. He had a long, fruitful life, and had spent the morning tinkering on his projects. Because of his age the neighbors kept a pretty close eye on him and so it wasn't long before someone noticed legs sticking out the garage door. His was a good death. So was Ice's.

As those of you on the Failte Gate Farm Facebook page already know, Ice passed away in her sleep this week. She went the way dogs want to go - lying beside her human. Since we re-homed her with my mother, the dog bloomed with new life, as she has had what every dog wants, a special human to guard 24 hours a day. Ice worked for a while as a narcotics dog and later as a cadaver dog, but she didn't really find her niche until she became a full-time companion to a retiree. It was a perfect fit for both of them.

After two wonderful years, Ice died in her crate beside my mother's bed. Everyone who has ever been faced with the angst of wondering when it is time to make the painful decision to euthanize a pet understands the wish that they would simply die in their sleep. I'm almost 52 years old and I've never, ever, had a dog die peacefully in their sleep, until Ice.

She had had her good days and her slow days, but nothing to remotely suggest the time was imminent. Ice went to bed that night and she was breathing heavy. Because storms were rolling into the region even that didn't send off any major alarms. The next morning, she had simply passed away in her crate beside the bed, exactly the way she would have wanted it.

And so while we shed some tears at her passing, I still tip my hat to her, because she had a good life, and a good death.