25 minutes.
25 minutes is all it takes.
Losing someone is hard for everybody, especially someone you love.
I had a dog named Akila and she was probably the bestest friend I will ever have.
If any of you who are reading this have seen the movie Balto then you know where I'm coming from here.
Balto was a hero-a savior. He didn't let any obstacles in his way. Akila was like that.
My dog Akila was 14 in human years and 98 in dog years. That is really impressive seeing that she was a big dog- malamute/akita/wolf. Don't worry she was friendly.
Like I was saying before- 25 minutes is all it takes to tear someone you love away from you.
But let's back up a bit.
People rely on dogs for many reasons. There's sled dogs, guard dogs, shepherded dogs and the occasional Seeing Eye dogs that help those who can't.
My dog was none of those but she was definitely the greatest best friend.
She had silky black fur with white socks at her legs. (Not actual socks) And she had the softest features on her face, like how she seemed like she smiled whenever you played with her.
Every dog has its own traits of personality, everyone is different. But they all love you.
I grew up with Akila. She was my pal, my best friend, my partner in crime. She is the one that kept me going. When I was two she chewed up my first soccer ball. When I was six she chewed up my Frisby. She was there when I joined my first soccer camp. She was there for my first soccer game. She has been to probably every one of my soccer games. I've been playing for almost ten years now. She was also there when I was at white caps practice.
When my parents split up she was always there for my sister and I. When they yelled at each other we would hide behind the couch.
She walked us to school and picked us up from school. She was my show 'n' tell for kindergarden-even though one kid brought his dads tank (dad is in the army) I thought she was still the best.
She was there every Christmas, every Easter, every summer, every winter, every spring and fall, and every thanks giving.
She was the kind of dog that if life gave her lemons she made lemonade.
If you were sad she would come up to you and lick your face. She loved everyone and everything.
She let the little dogs come up to her and lay down beside her. (It was sooo cute)
When I went to summer camp she was there to drop me off and pick me up.
When I we went snowboarding she was there walking around with my mom. when we threw snowballs in the air she would would jump up and ea them. When we went sledding she would walk in front of us right as we were going down and crash into her. She would seem brainless at times.
But she did save my life.
When I went to white caps practice it was almost about to start and I felt my face getting puffy. I was new there so I didn't want the other girls to see me like that. My mom had gone to walk the dog so I didn't know where she was.
I was just praying that she would come because I was getting really scared and rarely get scared. Apparently Akila wanted to turn back from where they were and my mom didn't know what was wrong. So she went back to where I was and once I saw her I booked it to where she was and told her I didn't feel great and that my face was swelling. My mom said she was going to go ask the coaches for some benadrel. So we started walking and "Mom..." then I collapsed.
I wasn't out for long. Maybe 15 seconds. But my mom was telling my team mates to get the coach.
Then she called 911.
When the ambulance came some guys helped me stand up, but when i was 3 feet away from the steps I collapsed again. I was then put on a gurney into the back of the vehicle.
I had to stay at the hospital for 6 hours, but on the bright side I got to watch jaws with my dad.
I don't what would of happened if Akila wasn't there.
When we took Akila in I kept on thinking This is is it. But i knew it was gonna be good for her. She served my family well.
She did everything a good dog would do, everthing a bad dog would do and everything the best dog would do. She was going to fly away.
My dad had to carry her onto a table in the vets office. The vet came in with a needle that was said to calm her down. That took 15 minutes. Those fifteen minutes were, dare I say it, a living hell. Everyone was crying. My mom, my dad and that was the first time I've seen him cry, my sister and even i was crying a bit. It's not that I didn't love Akila but I was the toughest one in the house. But... in a way i was crying so hard in the inside that i couldn't have tears coming out of my eyes.
The vet came in after the 15 minutes with a different needle this time. She had to shave off a bit of dog hair on her legs to put the needle in the vain. But Akila was so old that the vain's in her legs were not in the top as in the weren't rising in a sense. So the vet had to shave all four of her legs just enough for her to start bobbing her head. Her head would go down then back up then down then back up. i don't think she really wanted to go. Then my sister came and gave her a kiss on the nose and after that Akila's head went back down and never came back up. that took 10 minutes.
I wonder what its like in heaven. Maybe for dogs its a open field with bunnies everywhere and they're all trying to catch them. Maybe its a huge house with all the chew toys and dog treats you want. Who knows anyway.
Sometimes I wonder if Akila was a guardian Angel from heaven sent from God, maybe all dogs are like that. They all love you.
So thank you Akila for such a fun child hood.
...25 minutes...