Jordan Johnson

Professor Watson

Narrative Essay

25 January 2022

My Babee Gyrl

Ever since I was a little kid I knew I wanted a dog; it didn’t matter what type, I just knew I wanted a little furry best friend. It took years of begging but my parents finally gave in. I went with my dad to pick her up from his friend that was giving her away. I didn’t know at the time that we were taking her to be a part of our family. I thought I was just going with my dad so he could hang out with his friend. When we arrived at my dad’s friend’s house, I noticed the dog and loved her at first sight; she was so small and friendly. After playing with her while my pops and his friend were talking for a while, my dad told me the news; we were taking her home! This was the greatest day of my life, finally getting a dog I always cherished for. Since she already had previous owners, she already had a name: Babee Gyrl. Babee was a little Lhasa Apso with mainly white and brown fur. I think she had a lazy eye too because her eyes would be looking in different directions sometimes but I still loved her with all my heart nevertheless. 

Fast forward around 7 years and Babee Gyrl would be about 12 years old during this time. Lhasa Apsos have an average lifespan of 12-14 years so I knew Babee was getting close to death sadly; plus she already grew blind. My day was going great, I had some friends over and we were working on a puzzle. We were in the living room while Babee was chilling in her cage in my kitchen (we couldn’t see her but could hear her). After working on the puzzle for around an hour (it was 1000 pieces so that’s why we were on it for so long), my friends and I heard a weird noise coming from the kitchen. I went over to see what it was, and that’s when I noticed the noise was coming from Babee. It seemed as if she was struggling to breathe and I saw there was a lot of saliva coming from her. Seeing the distraught in my face, my friends rushed over to see what was going on. We all agreed that she should be taken to the vet to find out what was going on with her. So my friends wished her the best and headed home while I rushed her to the vet. 

When I arrived at the vet I informed them what happened to her and they took her in. Based on what I said, the lady I talked to said that Babee most likely had a seizure. The vet informed me that they would be keeping her overnight to see if it happened again. So I headed home and prayed for the best, hoping that everything would be ok. The next day the vet called back informing me that she could come back home, but she would have to take pills to prevent the seizures. Thinking that everything was ok, I was joyous to see my Babee again; but I could tell the seizure took a toll on her. But within the first week of having her back home Babee had another seizure. This one was really bad and we knew that Babeee was only struggling each and every day. I knew what had to be done but didn’t want to think about it. But my parents told me the news I didn’t want to hear; we had to put her down. 

My family and I (except for one of my brothers because he was in Florida at the time) took Babee to the vet to be with her in her final moments. During this time, I tried to think of all the good times I had with her so I wouldn’t cry; But seeing her laying on the table made me burst into tears, although they hadn’t put her down just yet I couldn’t stop it. I just felt hopeless knowing there was nothing I could do; but I tried to keep telling myself she was going to rest easy now. All of us said our final goodbyes and they put her to sleep. None of us could withhold our tears. Although this was one of the hardest times in my life, I was glad I had my family to help me through it. The next day my friends came over (the same as before) to finish the puzzle and I told them the news of Babee. When I told them I started to cry, which was the first time I ever cried in front of one of my friends. They hugged me which made me cry even more but still somehow made me feel better too. 

Although I no longer have my little best friend, I still have all the memories we made together. The time with her reminded me how short life is and that you should cherish the time you have with your loved ones. Tomorrow isn’t promised so you should take each moment you have with them and enjoy it to the fullest.