I understood from the beginning that Red is my dog, but not only my dog. He belongs to a lot of people, he has touched a lot of people and been important to a lot of people.

Red keeps evolving in his illness. He can no longer get into car by himself, or climb a ramp because of his blindness. He can no longer herd the sheep or do his beautiful outruns or ride in the warm car in the summer.

I’ve stopped bringing him to the Mansion except on special occasions and I no longer take him with me to the dentist or other doctor’s offices, where he was always welcome. Once I went to the dentist without him, and they sent me home to go get him. He’s known Shelby, the office manager for years, and always rushes over to her to get a greeting.

While I’m getting treated, Red usually lay just outside my cubicle. Once in a while, he’d go visit the receptionist station, and sometimes he’d visit other patients in their chairs. Red was always working, always bringing comfort to people.

It’s no longer really safe or wise to bring Red to the dentist, on top of everything else, he gets confused if he can’t see me or be near me – and when he doesn’t know where I am, he gets upset and starts searching for me.

It’s harder to get him into the car.

On one visit, he got outside looking for me while I was sitting in the dentist’s chair.

I had a dental appointment today, the final round in my $4,000 crown adventure. The staff really wanted to see him one more time, since he wasn’t coming anymore, they have been wonderful to him, and love him dearly.

They even say hello to me once in a while.

So I brought him today and he got to say goodbye to Ariel and Shelby (above) and the rest of the staff.

I don’t know  how they felt about it, but it was a wrench to me. I think it’s important.  I want the people who loved Red to get the chance to say goodbye to him if it’s at all possible. I feel that is my responsibility when I have a dog that belongs to so many people.

I don’t know what Red knows, but he seems to sense these visits are important, he always rallies for them, he tail wags gently – he was never into drama. Somehow, I think he knows this is a new chapter in our lives together, since we are quite tuned into one another, and he is a wonderful reader of my moods and emotions.

It’s the end of something for sure.  I’m not into drama either and I don’t want to end of his life to be an eternal soap opera. But this feels like something I can do and should do.

So Red said goodbye to Shelby and the staff today. I’m going back in a couple of weeks to get a cavity filled, and I’m glad he got a last visit. We have a few more visits like that to make – Wednesday I’m getting him to the Bishop Maginn High School – he much loved there and is, after all, the official mascot of the new Bishop Maginn High School Choir.