it was his time (goodbye happiness, part one)

he could no longer walk more than a few feet without stopping to rest, his legs trembling as he struggled to remain standing... after stopping a few times, his heart was pounding and he his panting turned into a struggle for breath... he would try to squat, but would collapse and had to be helped back to his feet and cleaned up... he still wanted to be outside so much, so i started taking off afternoons and bringing his outside bed and a chair from the patio and we'd sit out by the parking lot where he could look up at neighbors and neighbor's dogs walking by... he liked that, even as it became more challenging to lift his head and wag his tail...

he was panting so much walking from the parking lot to the vet's office, just about twenty feet, that the vet told jackson she does not need to listen to his heart or do any tests, it was his time...

we let jackson process that for a little while and she decided...