I just had to do one of the hardest things a person must do.

Take a beloved pet of over 14 years to the vet and have him put down this morning. I got Buck in late 1994 at the Humane Society after my Bearded Collie, Max, was killed by a car.

Buck, AKA, The Shag Beast, The Jaws of Doom, The Grey Beast, the Old Man was a fixture at my home, always greeting folks or hefting a huge bark at strangers. Food wouldn't hit the floor of Buck was around, he never even tasted his food.

But the serious sub-zero cold we've had the past several days took a toll on him. He'd have asthma attacks that grew longer and longer. Monday he had an attack and lost all control of his bowels, Yesterday the same thing, we made a vet appointment to have him checked out to today.

I took this photo at 8:30 this morning in the kids room. While we loaded him in the car he had another attack, we rushed him to the vet, this time he wasn't calming down. The vet sedated him and put him on oxygen, but he wasn't getting it in his system. His Respiratory system was failing fast.

We made the decision to not have him suffer, and since he was already sedated, he wouldn't know it. This was the hardest thing for me to do to a pet. For it was the first time in my life I had to watch a beloved pet be put down.

Buck went quietly at 9:01AM

I'm crushed, and this just before FC, This is gonna be a hard weekend for me.

Goodbye Old man, You are at peace now.