Barney's Last Swim, January 12, 2005

January was cold and Barney began to start falling down on his back leg when we would go for walks. The first day it happened, my heart sank. I knew his days were now numbered. His nights started to become very uncomfortable and neither he nor I would sleep well. On the morning of January 12, I went into my boss's office and explained what had been happening. Being a dog lover herself and having recently lost her greyhound to cancer, she immediately told me to take the day off and do what I knew was inevitable. I went home and gathered Barney, Marshall and the newly acquired Gentle Ben, and headed to the park for Barney's last swim. It was a cold morning and not many people in the park.