Molly

On November 10th at 4:30pm we put Molly down. Our dog was born in 1997 so she was 17 years old - a very old age for a Labrador. Within the last year she had a seizure and was diagnosed with a liver tumor. For far too long we have been fighting nature by trying to keep her going with medication and scrupulous care & support. By the end though, despite my Mum and Dad taking care of her with undying passion, she had lost control of her legs, could barely see, hear, move or even go to the bathroom.

Over the last 17 years she'd developed quite a unique character. Here are a few things that made her special:

1) She never needed a leash. Even when she was a puppy with boundless energy she would always come sprinting back to us.

2) At first she hated swimming, but like the trooper she was, she learned to dive into the water and swim with the fishes. She always tried to catch the fish she saw in the water. Even though she was very smart I don't think she ever learned that bouncing around through the waves actually reduced her chances of catching a fish.

3) Whilst she had many names including; santoh, moless, poodle, smooshie, smooshie poodle, smooshie poodle pie etc etc, she would respond enthusiastically to any name said in a high enough pitch.

4) She hated almost all other dogs but loved my Mum and Dad more than anything - and that includes schmackos doggy treats.

5) She once jumped out of a moving boat to try and swim with dolphins in the middle of the ocean.

6) Molly had a minor fear of cats ever since she was attacked by one in Jakarta

7) We used to go on beach trips to Sambolo in Indonesia. My brother and I would use her as a pillow for the long car ride down. Although we were always there for at least 3 days, she would exhaust all her energy running around on the first 2 days and spend the last day completely motionless in the car waiting for us to drive her home.

8) Towards the end, she would sleep with her tongue lazily protruding from her mouth. Somehow it made her even more cute.

On her last day I was both glad and disappointed to see that Molly was relatively vibrant. I was glad because I knew her last day would be a happy one and because I knew we were putting her down before she mentally and physically deteriorated any further. But I was also disappointed because I had this nagging emotional voice in the back of my head yelling at me saying "she can go on a bit longer!". Reason won in the end. She had a full life and died peacefully right next to the people she loved.

RIP Molly. I'll never forget you.