Saying Goodbye to Odin

Today, we had to say goodbye to our sweet, timid Odin.
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Odin was a nervous little guy in so many ways, but if you knew him, you knew how deeply he loved. He had a habit of pawing at your arm, your chest, or even your face whenever he wanted attention. It was his way of saying, “Please notice me. Please love on me.” And once you did, he would look into your eyes with such intensity and affection that it felt like he was staring straight into your soul.

We knew kidney disease is eventually a losing battle. So many dogs are given only six months after diagnosis. Somehow, Odin gave us nearly two years. In our hearts, though, that six months seemed to restart every single day. We always knew the disease would eventually win, but our desperate desire not to lose him made it easy to believe we still had more time.
Even as things started going wrong over the last few days, we were shocked when the end came.

His kidney disease progressed into kidney failure. The anemia caused by it became severe. He stopped being able to enjoy food. He started vomiting. On top of all of that, he was also dealing with the back and mobility issues that many of you followed along with us through. His little body was simply fighting too many battles at once.

Last night, we spent one final evening loving him, cuddling him, and telling him how much he is adored. Today, we chose to let him leave this world gently and peacefully rather than ask him to endure more suffering.

Odin’s story with me began with a bite.
The very first time I met him, nearly eight years ago, I picked him up to say hello and he immediately bit me. Mallory forgot to mention he didn’t like being picked up. Yesterday, while I was trying to give him medication to help him feel a little better, he bared down with those tiny vampiric teeth one last time, proving that even at his age, he had not lost his bite.
And true to Odin, right after that, he was ready to cuddle again.

One of our favorite things about him was watching his relationship with Fiona. Fiona has never been a fan of being touched while she’s trying to sleep, but Odin was absolutely determined to cuddle with her anyway. Through a combination of patience and unrelenting insistence, he eventually won her over. Somewhere along the way, Fiona accepted that sharing her space with Odin was simply part of life.

We are going to miss his paw taps. We are going to miss those soulful eyes. We are going to miss the way he quietly asked for love by attempting to cuddle so close it almost seemed as if he was trying to crawl inside us and then soaked up every bit of it while staring deep into our eyes.

We are also incredibly grateful to everyone who tried to help us with his back issues. None of us knew how limited his time truly was. Even so close to what became the final chapter of his life, your advice, support, encouragement, and hope meant the world to us.

It is a comfort to know that there is a family of people out there who love our animals as much as we do.

We love you Odin. We always will.