argillaceous

For those of you who kindly supported and followed my final week with my greyhound Argus up to his passing on June 24th, I wanted to post one final photo today, which would have been his 14th birthday.

Thank you, SR fam, for helping me stay sober the entire week before we said goodbye to Argus. Your comforting and supportive words, and your kind offers to alert your pets that have already passed to locate and greet him when he arrived at the bridge (complete with his favorite treats I assume...) made me feel like the SR folks I've started to get to know and connect with were actually there in spirit with me the afternoon we said goodbye.

The photo below was taken when Argus was just shy of 4 years old, about 18 months after he had retired from racing. We were on a winter walk and practically ran into a snowman in the middle of the sidewalk, likely the first snowman Argus had ever seen and certainly not something he felt by any means he needed to associate with.

At first that is.

Though timid and a bit scared, Argus still moved toward this odd creature. Even though he didn't know what he might getting into, my sweet little boy heeded my encouragement and let his true curious nature win out—he stepped forward and moved in for a closer smell.

This is just one example where Argus faced life's encounters just by being present every day and doing the best he could with what he had. His ability to confront his life—even with his anxieties and fears—was forever inspiring me. I feel like if I could be one-quarter as good as dealing with my anxieties and fears as a sober human as Argus could as a tried-and-true dog then I could rightly be proud of myself.

Thanks SR for helping me stay sober the week leading up to Argus's passing. The things I noticed like the pond lily, the time I spent just quietly petting Argus, the sense of feeling his body snuggled next to mine, the listening to his steady breathing: these are things I will treasure that I never would have experienced had I avoided dealing with the upcoming loss by drinking.

Those times are strong reminders to me of the essentialness of sobriety to living a full and rewarding life. I'll keep those thoughts close in heart and mind as I move forward in navigating how to live life without him.

And now, here's Argus meeting his first snowman: