9 Things I learned from Nashville, the bestest boy in the whole world.

Two weeks ago we had to say goodbye to our dog Nashville.

This was as unexpected as it was devastating. It’s taken me this long to put my thoughts on paper.

It feels cliche to say that Nash was a perfect boy; it feels like everyone thinks that their pet is the best. Truly Nash was the best of the best.

It feels cliché to say that Nash was a perfect boy; it feels like everyone thinks that their pet is the best. Truly Nash was the best of the best.

We rescued Nashville at the Indy Humane Society. When we first met Pharaoh - the name they had given him - he looked at us with his intense, soulful eyes through the kennel fence. We got to go on a walk with him - he was gentle and appreciative and an overall happy-go-lucky boy. We had a chance to get some of his history, that he was adopted previously but was abused and abandoned by his owner and ended up back in the adoption system.

Nash was thin when we brought him home. He took his first trip to the vet for a check up the next day and we bought him a harness that hung loosely even at the tightest setting. Our aim was to bulk him up - with food, with treats and with all the love we could pour into him.

Over the days and weeks and years Nashville became an integral part of our life and our family “pack.”

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Nash was the best brother to his sister Indy - our older mini Aussie shepherd. Eventually he was a wise older brother to our other two German shepherds - Dalton and Bear.
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Nashville was not only a great brother but also a perfect gentleman. He would wait for permission before jumping on the bed or the couch. When we wiped his paws after coming in during the rain or bad weather, Nash would lift his paws individually so they could be wiped.

Nashville was not just thoughtful but quiet and ponderous. He didn’t bark for 4 years. For the longest time we thought maybe he didn’t even know how. The first time he barked he scared himself - like ‘what the hell just happened?’

Nashville let us love on him unabashedly. Nash liked to cuddle under the covers in the morning after breakfast and before officially getting up. And in the evening he would sit between us on the couch and wait to be cozied up under a blanket with one of his papas.

Nash was also a championship napper - he spent his days lounging around the house in various dog beds and chairs. He could also be found at the top of the stairs on house protection duty or, when he could, outside sunbathing in the yard.
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That Friday we took a short road trip together as a family down to Bloomington to catch a glimpse of the fall leaves and do a little random book shopping. As was his usual routine, Nash tried to play copilot most of the time - poking his head up between his dads and looking out the front window expectantly.

Saturday, his last day, he woke up and uncharacteristically stayed in bed instead of racing down the stairs to do his hops and twists before breakfast. Even when he came downstairs he refused to eat breakfast and only drank water.

We assumed that he had a touch of the doggie flu and just wasn’t feeling his best. The rest of the day he was lethargic and more lazy than usual. We monitored him all day and made a pact that every 10 or 20 minutes one of us would check on him and give him some pets and kisses. He even got an extra brushing which he loved.

Every time we said his name he would wag his tail and weakly raise his head to greet us. The day before we had gone on a family car ride to see the leaves in Brown County and enjoy some time altogether.

When he didn’t eat anything even at dinner and then fell down from weakness when he went out to potty, we knew it was time to take him into the vet. The emergency vet had a 3 hour wait so we packed all the dogs up in the van and checked in.

Our sweet boy moved around some and lifted his head up a few times. Once it was our turn Nash could barely walk inside the building. The staff carefully took him back to be assessed and we waited impatiently in the waiting area.

We were expecting an infection and some medicine to help him feel better. The vet on duty sat us down and explained that an ultrasound revealed that Nash had fluid around his heart - likely from a ruptured tumor at the base of his heart. This fluid was what had resulted in his weakness and lethargy.

We tried to listen but did not know how to respond. The vet said that there were not many treatment options available - she could remove the fluid from around his heart and maybe the fluid would stop but this was unlikely. Even with this, if we took him home he likely had a few hours and maybe a day before he would be in the same situation.

We wanted to know if he was in pain. She said no; he likely just wasn’t feeling like his normal self. Then we had to decide one of the hardest things we had ever had to decide together - it was best if we said goodbye to our Nash boy.

It was 3am, and we got a blanket from the car and asked if we could spend time with him. They brought us all to a private room where he could lay down with him.

He was still very weak but he let us pet him and love on him and hold his paw. We told him how much we loved him and cried tears that dropped into his soft fur. We held him close and reminded him that he was the bestest boy that ever was and that he had made our lives so much better.

We told him that we hoped that we had given him all the loves and pets and good things and made his life way better than it was before. We thanked him for all the morning cuddles and the late night snuggles and all the ways that he made us feel loved and safe.

We thanked him for letting us be his papas for 10 years and for helping us be better. We told that he was a good brother to Indy and Bear and especially to his brother Dalton who learned how to be a good boy from his older brother. Most of all, we reminded him that he was loved. He was loved. He was loved.

Then we said goodbye.

Our new treasured possession is the blanket we cuddled and said goodbye to him on. My heart hurts and I find myself saying his name to call him in from his morning yard time. I have to swallow the words back and remember that he’s left us. But I also know my life was immeasurably better with him in it.

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​So, in honor of Nashville’s life with us, here are 9 things we learned from Nash:

1. Just because something sh*&y happens doesn’t mean it’s sh*&y forever.
2. Sometimes the best plan is to rest and take a nap.
3. You can be a good boy and still refuse to do something.
4. The bestest boys are kind, polite and thoughtful
5. Relationships are critical, and the best relationships make you and those around you better.
6. The bestest boys can learn how to speak up and bark.
7. Even perfect Nashs can’t stay forever. Death and life are inseparable.
8. Make the most of every day, every week, every month, because someday those will be the last one with your Nash.
9. At the end there is nothing left to say but you are so loved, and life has been better with you in it.

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PO Box 3481, Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352-3481
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