Dog Days Are Over
Look out for those who look out for you, loyalty is everything
Day 1
"Sam" Mercy called after him, he'd just gone through the kitchen door while she was taking the hot toast over to Adam their 12 year old son at the table, before kissing his forehead, while watching for Sam's head to appear at the door "Don't forget" she looked at Bugsy, their family dog who had been in the family since forever.
They'd met him on the day they'd closed on their home 14 Years ago, having gotten married six months prior they suddenly decided that the apartment they'd shared for five years wasn't going to be fit for purpose when they started their family. Tina and Mike, their friends since forever, brought to their attention that the house next door to them was going at a steal, there was work to be done, but they weren't put off by it, plus it seemed logical that they should buy the house next door.
After celebrating that night, on the walk home, they came across a very distressed mother trying to give birth, it was clear the mother was uncared for, so they took her to hospital and walked out four hours later with Bugsy while Mike and Tina took on his orphaned sister Blousy.
Bugsy was a mixed yorkie, they weren't quite sure what he was mixed with, but whatever it was, made him the most loving, loyal, protective friend they could wish for. Adam saw Bugsy as his reliable older brother, he went everywhere with him, sat outside school to see him home, even slept outside his bedroom door. It was like he was being grateful for the family taking him in and knew taking care of Adam as the only way to pay them back. Sam was his ultimate master, but with him being away on business so regularly, Bugsy felt like he needed to be the man of the house, and Mercy felt so comfortable with that, she let him.
It was just a week away from Adam's 13th birthday, he didn't want a party, but he'd decided that he wanted to go on a hike with his Dad, Mike, and Mike's 14 year old son Ethan, of course they were taking the dogs, but last night while they were trying to feed Bugsy he'd wrenched several times and Sam had knocked his bloated tummy and panicked at the hollow sound. The poor boy was already living on borrowed time, so they didn't want to take any chances, Mercy had booked an appointment at the vets and Sam was taking him for an investigation
"Two thirty I know" he looked fretfully at Bugsy
"What's the appointment?" Adam asked his dad
"Bugsy's checks" he told him quickly closing the door behind him
Everyone went about their busy day, Sam was teaching guitar at the local college, Mike had his dance studio which meant he worked long hours, Tina made bridal dresses in her workshop at home, and did most of the child minding, while Mercy was a reporter for the local newspaper.
Mercy caught a cab and was stood outside the vets when Sam pulled up with Bugsy "I got back home and Tina said he's been quite restless, I checked him and his breathing isn't right" he opened the boot and lifted Bugsy out, Mercy was already rushing towards him worried
"What do you think it is?"
"He is old babe"
"I know but…"
"I think we should prepare ourselves for the worst" he stood in front of the veterinary practice door waiting for her to open the door
"You know that's not me" she pulled the door open with such force he could tell she was already angry for the outcome of the visit
"Hi Bugsy" Jane, the receptionist, smiled at them entering "Mr and Mrs Evans"
"Hi" they both smiled
"Two thirty?"
"Yes" Sam answered her "And he's heavy"
"I think you can go straight through" Jane nodded at the familiar door
"Thanks" Mercy moved towards it opening it wide for Sam to get through with Bugsy
"Will" Sam looked at the vet concerned "He was trying to vomit last night, and his gut was hollow when I tapped it" Sam told Will "And just before we left out Tina told me he was falling all over the place; he seemed a little disorientated when I put him to walk so…" he put him on the table "We think somethings wrong" he looked at Mercy
"Sounds like it" Will patted Bugsy before listening to his heart "It is fast, and laboured" he teased Bugsy's mouth open to look inside "He has poor circulation" he looked at Sam before looking back at Bugsy "There's a fair bit of gas in his tummy too"
"What should we do?" Mercy asked distressed
"I'll try removing the gas with a tube, if that doesn't work I'll need to use a needle"
"Will he be awake?"
"We'll give him something to relax him" Will assured her "Then we'll be able to do an x-ray and see what's going on"
"What do you think is going on?" Sam asked anxious
"I'd be guessing if I said anything now, let me get the x-ray done, and we can have a more informed conversation"
"Okay" Sam grabbed hold of Mercy, watching as Will sedated Bugsy "We'll be outside when you've finished" he responded to Will nodding at the door for them to leave
"What are we going to tell Adam?" Mercy asked when they sat down, holding Sam's hand tighter
"Lets just see what Will says first babe" he pulled her head towards his and kissed her forehead, hugging her as she shoulders jerked, he'd expected it a while back
"Sam, Mercy" Will's voice brought them out of their feelings and back into panic mode
"Is he alright?" Mercy jumped up to get back into the room, Sam following closely behind her "So?" she looked at Will stood closing the door slowly "It's bad news isn't it?"
"Bugsy has a stomach torsion" Will told the blank faces
"Which is?" Sam asked
"Basically, twisted bowel syndrome which means all his gastric passage is twisted causing his gut to swell and giving him great discomfort"
"He's in pain?" Mercy screeched
"What causes that?" Sam asked "I mean we're so careful about what he eats, how much he eats, the time he eats, he exercises every day, he's had all his jabs"
"There's no reasons or faults behind why this happens Sam" Will assured him
"So, what do we do next?" Mercy asked
"I'm afraid the condition is a lot worse than we'd ever wished for" Will looked from Mercy to Sam "This condition can be slow or rapid, I'm afraid Bugsy's stomach isn't just twisting it's wrapping itself around his vital organs which means blood isn't able to travel freely around his body"
"What does that mean?" Sam looked at Mercy confused
"I'm afraid it means it's gone way past treatment; I think Bugsy's looking at days rather than weeks"
"This isn't happening" Mercy's voice upset
"Is he in pain?" Sam asked
"He would have been, but it seems he has a high pain threshold" Will told them
"Can we take him home?" Sam asked
"Maybe with a fair amount of pain killers" Will told him with a warning in his voice "It's not nice to watch, so I suggest you bring him back in as soon as things get too bad, call me anytime" he looked at Mercy "You have my number" he looked at Bugsy still drowsy from the anaesthetic, stroking him, he'd known him since he'd delivered the two puppies from their dying mother
"What did we do wrong?" Mercy asked
"Nobody did anything wrong, these things happen" Will assured her
They sat in reception waiting for the prescription and for Bugsy to liven up a bit before Sam carried him off to the car, Mercy sat in the back with his head in her lap, crying all the way home "Babe we've got to be strong for Adam" Sam looked in the mirror at her as they got closer to home
"We'll have to tell him as soon as he comes in, I can't hold this in" they knew he'd be next door with Ethan, neither of them finished work till well after 5pm, so tonight they were early in, and Adam wasn't stupid
"You know Adam" Sam nodded knowingly, they got home and sat on the couch with Bugsy stretched across them stroking him with saddened hearts
"Hey" Adam burst in the door rushing over to them "Something wrong?"
"Hey" Sam half smiled at him "Why?"
"It's not even five yet and you guys are home, something happened?"
"Yeah" Mercy held her hand out for him to grab
"Bugs" he gasped seeing him laying across his parents "What's wrong with him?"
"We took him to see Will today and he said Bugs isn't well, he's got something wrong with his stomach" Mercy told him squeezing his hand
"So, he needs an operation, is it dangerous?" Adam sat beside her finding a vacant spot on Bugsy to stroke
"There's no operation for what he has, it's gone too far" Sam told him
"What do you mean?" Adam looked into his dad's eyes daring him to say the words he thought he was trying to say
"Son, there's nothing Will can do" Sam told him
"Well find someone else" Adam shouted standing up before he burst into tears, Sam wasted no time rushing to him "It's not fair dad" he mumbled crying louder "it's not fair" he hugged his dad and cried until he was ready to stop "So" he looked up at his dad "How long has he got?"
"Days rather than weeks" Sam told him rolling his eyes at Adam falling back on his chest to cry some more, Mercy was already in tears
"Cancel my birthday" he told his mom walking out the room
"I'll…" Mercy got up to go after him, wiping her wet face
"No" Sam stopped her "Leave him for a bit, let him process, you know him, research, research" he smiled at her "How are you?" he walked over to her
"Shocked, upset, grieving already" she looked at Bugsy
"We've got to tell everyone" he took his phone out and pulled her back over to the couch, each sitting either side of Bugsy, Mercy sat wiping more tears as Sam called their parents, his brother and most of their friends, ending with Tina and Mike, who of course came over straight away.
"He lifted his head" Mercy giggled stroking Blousy "He knew she was here" it only took seconds for Blousy to realise something was wrong and her cry came out
"God, this is so wrong" Tina cried bending to stroke Bugsy, watching Ethan go off to Adam's room
The house was solemn for the evening, meals were left uneaten, conversation was almost non-existent, and someone had a hand on Bugsy every second "Can he sleep in my room tonight?" Adam asked his parents, it wasn't something that they usually allowed but this was extenuating circumstances, Mercy nodded to Sam in agreement
"Just for tonight" Sam smiled "And we'll be popping in to check on him"
The night was busy with either Sam or Mercy popping into Adam's room to check on Bugsy "Is he alright?" Sam sat in bed asking when she walked back into their bedroom
"He's breathing faster, but he only had a shot three hours ago, I think it's too soon to give him another one"
"We could call Will and check if you want?"
"We'll do half hour checks" Mercy suggested "I don't want him to go until he really has to" so that's what they did through the night
Day 2
Of course, the main topic the next morning was Bugsy "I'll stay with Bugs today" Adam suggested laughingly because he knew his parents would never agree to it
"Good try" Sam laughed "Mom said she wants the day"
"A whole day?"
"You had the night" Sam laughed
"I know but he's only got…"
"So, what you got planned for today at school?" Sam quickly changed the subject
"Double math" Adam frowned "I might just tell everyone about Bugs and change the focus" he laughed
"Don't you dare" Mercy walked into the kitchen warning him
"I want to stay home today" Adam told her
"We know buddy, but school's important" Sam told him
"It's one day" Adam whined
"Boy" Mercy's not joking with you voice overpowered the conversation, Sam and Adam shared a look signalling the conversation had finished
"Grab your bag I'll take you in today" Sam nodded at his bag sat ready on the door
"Message me if anything happens" Adam begged his mom as he kissed her cheek as a goodbye
"I will" she smiled hugging his face "Have a good day, well as good as it can be baby"
"I'll call" Sam leaned in and kissed her lips
"Bye babe" she wiped her lipstick off him, and watched them both make a fuss of Bugsy before leaving the house
She hadn't planned anything, the whole day was going to be dedicated to Bugsy and her memories of their time together. She made herself a cup of coffee, grabbed some of Bugsy's favourite biscuits and sat on the floor next to his basket, frowning at him not even acknowledging her.
"So, Bug" she stroked his fur and tried to feed him a biscuit "We had some great walks didn't we?" she smiled at his sad face, remembering him as the lively run around that kept everyone on their toes "Slowdown" she mumbled through her upset, she was forever telling him that. "Well now you have, and I don't want it, not one bit" she cried, Bugsy lifted his head for a second obviously concerned at her being sad, but his body couldn't keep it up, he quickly lowered it back onto the pillow. Mercy sat slipping in and out of her memories, unwilling to think of a life without him in it, they'd all took it for granted that Bug would be there forever.
A change in his breathing alerted her to the pain he was feeling, she quickly grabbed his bag of medication "I'm here Bug" she assured him as she got his medication ready "I'm here, mommy's here" she wanted to cry but right now he needed her to give him some release, so she focused on the task at hand
Of course, when he calmed down she took a moment to cry before contacting Will to let him know they were using pain relief every two hours now instead of four. His news wasn't comforting, he just let her know that Bugsy's time was close and when it got to less than an hour he felt it would be cruel to put him through anymore. She found herself agreeing with the man and cried again when she put the phone down, still unable to see a life after Bug was gone.
"Babe" she smiled relieved at Sam's voice on the other end of the phone "Yeah he's fine, I'm fine"
"Is he any worse?"
"He's taking pain relief every two hours now, Will said…"
"I know I've already spoken to him" Sam told her "I needed to know what to expect, I'll be home in an hour or so"
"Why?"
"I can't concentrate, I might grab Adam on the way in"
"Okay" she decided not to put up a fight about that, whatever Will had told him was making him act this way
Sam came home as planned with Tina, Mike, Ethan and Adam in tow, Mercy thought it was nice to have some normal noise in the house for a while. Tina cooked something while they all sat round the table telling stories of Adam, Ethan, Bugsy and Blousy
"Remember when you were about eight and we went to the lake that day you thought Bugs was drowning, you ran in trying to pull him to shore and got into trouble yourself, Bugs ended up pulling you to safety" Sam laughed at his son
"I was playing dad" Adam laughed "Tell us the story of Bug and Blousy again" he looked at his dad smiling
"I don't really want to go into their mom and all that" Sam smiled remembering "But we'd just closed on this house aunt Tina and your Mom had decided we were going to this bar with music of course, they were never shy of a stage" he laughed rolling his eyes with Mike
"We had a good time though and by the end of the night we were parents to these two" Mike stroked Blousy and looked at Bugsy
"He was the first one in the house once we got the keys, it was like he knew this was where he was meant to be" Mercy looked around the dining room "Couldn't have been more than three weeks old"
"Where's the time gone" Tina asked looking from Bugsy to Blousy "She won't be the same without him"
"Our lives won't be the same without him" Ethan told them
"Through thick and thin he's been with us" Sam stroked his best friends laying limp beside him "Seen us at our best and worst" he laughed hugging Mercy as her head fell onto his chest "We'll be alright, we've got each other"
"Promise?" Adam asked
"Promise" Sam grabbed his son's hand
"We better be making a move" Mike sensed it was time for the family to be alone when Bugsy started sounding uncomfortable again "We'll check in tomorrow"
"Okay" Sam acknowledge the conversation, getting up to tend to Bugsy "That was less than two hours wasn't it?"
"Just over ninety minutes" Mercy told him looking at the clock on the wall
"He's going to make it through the night isn't he?" Adam asked
"I really don't know buddy" Sam replied
"I'm staying up with him" Adam told them, they didn't say anything they knew they were too
Bugsy's basket was in the middle of the room, all three of them cuddled on one couch watching Bug breathe, holding their breath for the next inhale and waiting for the pain relief to get under an hour.
"Is this the same puppy we brought home fourteen ears ago?" Mercy looked at him "He was a character wasn't he, crazy facial expressions, we knew he was intelligent from day one didn't we?" she looked at Sam
"Well, I taught him a couple of tricks, he had those down in about a week and all the rest was him" he laughed
"Naturally protective with Adam, from the day he was born" Mercy combed her hand through her son's hair
"He's my big brother" Adam laughed
"Is that why you've never been bothered about having a sibling?" Sam, laughed
"No" Adam looked at him "I thought it was because I was so perfect, you guys didn't want to chance it" he laughed
"Funny" Sam laughed "You know I'd always imagined this moment being us all sat holding a very aged Bug, wrapped in his blanket with us all there ready to say goodbye, I never once thought he'd be in pain" the room went quiet as everyone sat in their memories
Day 3
"Bug?" Adam called "I didn't hear him breathe" he told his dad watching him jump up to check
"Two thirty" Mercy told them "It's less than an hour" she got up
"Okay" Sam stood up "He'd breathing but it's faint, call Will" he instructed Mercy, he could hear her in the background, but his mind was fully on Bug, he was the important person in all this, he could deal with the rest of the family afterwards
"He said get him there" Mercy told him "Grab coats" she instructed Adam watching Sam pick Bug up "God he's so floppy" she started to cry
"Mercy" Sam snapped "That's not helping" he looked at Adam "Will you drive?"
"Sure" she wiped her face and went into action mode
The car was quiet except for the breathing from everyone, they pulled up at the vet to see lights on and grunted with relief that someone who knew what to do was at hand "Will" Sam gasped as Adam pushed the half open door open
"Bring him through" Will called "When did he last have painkillers?"
"About forty minutes ago" Mercy replied "And he's crying again already" she couldn't hold it in she let out her hurt, Adam hugged her, and started crying too. Sam stood holding Bug wanting to put him down but aware this was the very last time he was going to hold him
"Sam" Will pointed at the table
"Just give us a minute" he turned to Mercy and Adam "Say your goodbyes it's time" his stomach was doing flips, his heart was beating faster than he'd ever remembered it beating, he was sweating but he was holding it all together because his family weren't doing too well in that moment.
"Bye Bug, thanks for being my big bro" Adam kissed his dry nose, he didn't even open his eyes he was just crying with the pain
"I'm losing a dear friend; I'll never forget you Bugs" Mercy hugged his little face "I love you"
Sam said nothing he just hugged him, walked over to the slab and lay him down "We're staying, he'll want to know we're here" he told Will as they all crowded around the slab.
They watched the needle go in and stood stroking Bugsy, talking to him telling him it was alright to let go, that they loved him, and they'd see him again soon. There was a bit of a struggle as he tried to take his last few breaths, he suddenly opened his eyes for a slit second "It's okay to go buddy" Sam stroked his face, and then he was gone.
They stood in silence just getting to grips with what had just happened "When will he be ready?" Adam asked Will
"I'll do him first thing in the morning, come for him around eleven" Will told him looking at Sam for confirmation
They'd done a funeral plan for Bugsy when he was eleven, on Will's advice, so everyone knew there was going to be a cremation, his ashes were going to be kept in their garden next to the first tree they'd ever planted, and they'd agreed Adam was doing the eulogy
At one o'clock they were all stood in the garden, dressed for the occasion having collected Bugsy's ashes and informed the family of his passing. Tina, Ethan, and Mike made the short ceremony "I've got some words to say" Adam told them "It's just some memories"
"Go on son" Sam encouraged him
"Bug" he smiled at the urn "I hold my hand up to you dude, you never so much as chewed a single sock" he laughed "I'll always remember the way you always peeped through my bedroom door and then crept in when you thought mom and dad were asleep" he looked at his mom smiling
"We knew" Sam told him
"I never thanked you properly for the way you guarded me like your most treasured possession, and I hope you know you were mine" he wiped a tear "You could catch a frisbee, football even a tennis ball without it even taking a bounce as many times as I threw it"
"Yet he hated people throwing food at him" Mercy smiled
"He did that" Ethan laughed "I learned that the hard way" everyone laughed
"I guess what I really want to say is thank you for your protection, for guarding the house keeping mom and me safe when dad was away, and for not eating Will and Emma's cat every time you went to the vets, I know you two had a love hate relationship" he laughed "You're the most loyal friend I'll ever have, I miss you already bug"
"We all do" Sam echoed
"What is it grandma always says at the end?" he looked at his mom
"Rest.." Mercy smiled
"In eternal peace" they all followed
"That was beautiful baby" Mercy kissed her son's forehead
It was only one in the afternoon, but it felt like a week had gone by in a day, after the wake everyone sort of brightened up a bit and actually ate something before getting on with packing Bugs things away. "Mercy" Mike came up behind her as she packed things away in the kitchen that evening "Sam's not himself, he's not talking much either"
"I thought that, but he keeps saying he's fine" she looked across the room at him sat slouched in the couch staring at the garden, it was lit up, so she knew he was looking at Bugs urn
"No need to say, I know" Mike smiled "But keep an eye on him tonight" he leaned in a kissed her cheek as a goodnight "Come on Cha Cha Chang tomorrow" he bumped fists with Sam and hugged Adam on his way through
"I'm going to my room" Adam told his parents watching the door close behind their friends
"Okay" Sam's shaky voice alerted them that something was wrong
"Dad" Adam stepped back shocked
"It's okay sweetheart, I'll sit with dad" Mercy walked across the room to her husband "Babe" she hugged him, it had been a few years since she'd seen him cry, she let him get it all out "It's okay babe" she rocked him, realising that since this whole thing had started he hadn't had room to show any emotion
"Sorry" he finally looked up at her "I just realised Bug's days are over, and I really don't know how we're going to fill the gap"
"We'll find a way" she assured him