My dog Bruschi was the best dog any one could ask for, from the summer of 2004, until March of 2010. I was only nine years old when he first came into our family. He fit right in, and we all loved him from the start. Bruschi went through so much in our family and everyone will forever miss him.
Our dog was named after the now retired New England Patriot, Tedy Bruschi. He was different from any other dog, and I don’t think that any other dog could have fit into his place as well as he did. Bruschi was a yellow-lab-mix, but was really small for being part lab. His big brown eyes would always look so sad when he knew he did something wrong, it was the cutest thing ever! Bruschi wasn’t the type of dog who liked dog food that much; he preferred “people food,” like carrots, lettuce, and steak. That’s not all he ate, though, he had some CD’s, glue, tons of gum, and more but live through it all. Bruschi was a dog that loved to lie in the sun all day, or play in the snow in the winter. He was afraid of water, and if there were the smallest puddle on the ground he would have to walk around it. He definitely could get annoying with his barking, but the whole family loved him anyway.
A few months after we got Bruschi, he was out playing in the yard and got really sick. He was lying down and very weak. We rushed him to the animal hospital where he had to stay a few days. We were all really worried about him and thought we might lose him. It turns out he ha eaten some bad mushrooms growing in the woods, which caused him to become sick. We noticed his being sick soon enough so we were able to save him. We paid a lot of money to make sure he was healthy again. After that scary incident we watched him much more closely when he was outside.
Getting a dog was a great addition to the family. We would take him with us when we went on short vacations, too. He loved going for rides in the car and sometimes he didn’t even want to get out. Bruschi hated when anybody hugged in front of him. He would go crazy barking, thinking that somebody was getting hurt. Bruschi wasn’t exactly a guard dog, though. When people came over he would run up to greet them, and act like they were only there to see him. Bruschi was a fun dog to have around; he could always make you smile.
Although Bruschi was really my Mom’s dog, everyone loved him. Bruschi liked my Mom the best out of everyone, too. He wouldn’t even eat unless she was the one to put his food in his dish, like it would taste way worse if someone else fed him. Bruschi would always run straight to the door to greet us the second we came home, and he would be standing by our feet whenever we were cooking. He really was a great dog, and unlike any other.
One day we all noticed that something wasn’t right with Bruschi. He was shaking like crazy and just didn’t seem himself. Since it was winter we thought maybe he was just cold, and shivering. But, soon enough we found out that wasn’t the case. He had stopping eating, and whenever he would drink water, he would throw up. Bruschi became very weak, very fast, and we were all really worried. We felt so bad that he was sick, but through research on the Internet we had no idea what was wrong, so we took him to the vet. Bruschi’s kidney failed. There was one procedure that could be done, but the results might not have helped him in the end. We decided it was best, due to his suffering, to put him down, the night of March 7, 2010.
Bruschi was such a great dog, and was loved by everyone. He was the cutest dog who could make your day so much better. We all miss him so much, just knowing that he won’t run to the door to greet us, stand by us while we’re cooking, or bark at us for no reason. We will miss him, and remember him, always, as he was a member of our family.
Written by my daughter.
