The Last Walk

In remembrance of a dog named Gretchen

By Karen Abbey

My oldest son, Mark, lives in a mobile home park in Cayucos, California. The home next to his had been lived in for years by an older couple and their dog Gretchen. The wife died last year, so the 90-year-old man, Ray, and his dog – Gretchen, a 12-year-old Border Collie – live alone.
    Mark has been working for these neighbors for a long time, and that includes taking Gretchen for walks. Gretchen has cancer, and when Mark returned from a short visit to Big Sur a couple of weeks ago, another neighbor who also works for Ray met Mark at his car and told him, “I don’t think Gretchen will live out the night.”
    Mark went in to Ray’s to see Gretchen and found her lying on the floor breathing only with great labor. Mark gave her some water, a hug, and went back home. Much to his surprise, a few minutes later he looked up to see Gretchen at his place! It seems Gretchen had decided that if Mark was home she was not going to die yet!

Four nights ago, Mark woke up about 2:30 in the morning and looked out through his blinds to see Gretchen staring at him from her porch. He went over and led her back to his place and then tried to go back to sleep.
    But Gretchen wouldn’t leave Mark alone. She would look at him and then turn her eyes toward the ocean meaningfully. So Mark got up, put on some clothes, and took Gretchen for a walk to the pier and back. He later reported that she was bouncy and seemed happy. He took her back home and then returned to bed.
    About an hour later a phone call from Ray woke him with the request to “come over right now!” Mark went over and, as before, when he returned from Big Sur, he found Gretchen on the floor having to work hard to breathe. Mark knelt down beside her and put his arms around her as she took her last breath.

Copyright © 2018 by Karen Abbey