A DIFFICULT DECISION

When Dr. Krysinski tightened the tourniquet and steadied the needle, I thought about my wife’s reaction to the nurse who gently touched her shoulder and said, “We do this procedure all the time, you have nothing to worry about.” My wife replied, “No, it’s not that. It’s … it’s …,” she reached for a Kleenex and dabbed her eyelids, “it’s the book.” She lowered her eyes toward John Grogan’s memoir “Marley & Me,” it’s spine unevenly balanced on her right knee. I, of course, was being rolled away on a hospital bed, the nurse pushing me through the double doors.

I do know this, my wife plowed through the first two hundred pages of “Marley & Me,” laughing and informing me of every bad incident that Marley, a Yellow Labrador Retriever, went through. “You got to read this,” she said. The last thing I wanted was to start reading a memoir about someone’s pet; I had better things to do with my day, or at least better things to read. “It’s been on the New York Times bestseller’s list forever,” she claimed, her way of saying, What’s the matter with you anyway?

Now, at this particular juncture, as Dr. Krysinski stuck the needle in, I remembered how difficult it was for my wife to finish the last few chapters on the day of my surgery. I guess it was then that I took an interest in what was going on. “Is Marley dying?” I asked. She nodded yes. A few days later, she finished the book, and gave it to me. I’m only on the fourth chapter, but let me tell you, John and Jenny Grogan, two young newlyweds, have purchased this dog, their hopes and dreams of his potential are as limitless as their love for one another. And so the story goes, each milestone Marley reaches is marked by something significant in their own lives. My wife and I certainly can relate to that. Our very own Bear started out as a guard dog, a square jawed British Black Labrador Retriever, a young pup with lots of energy and a nice disposition. Any little sound and he’d be charging at the door, barking his fool head off. But not anymore. We had a difficult decision to make. My wife looked into his eyes as they slowly closed and I felt his heartbeat slip away. We will miss him, may he rest in peace. And many thanks to the wonderful staff at Harvey’s Animal Hospital in Detroit.