Goodbye, Bender

The 10th of September was the day we decided to put our old boy Bender to peace. This photo is of a younger, healthy bender.
No longer able to walk, or run for that matter, sad and stressed on his mat, and in pain. I will always remember him and I'm not sure if we will ever be lucky enough again to have such a wonderful dog. Very loyal, easy to train, happy and intelligent. Ball crazy, bone mad and always ready to patrol the perimeters of the property. Allowed inside, he was an outside dog at heart, always itching to get out. "Bender, you've got ants in your pants", I would say to him when I walked past him in the house, and he would jump up, ready for action. Bendy Boy, B Boy, B Bopper, Bendy-mo. Grumpy old dog who would grumble when we hugged him. Yet when we stopped, he would push into us for more.
The place feels empty. Our other dog Leela is not eating and looks nervous. I wonder what she's thinking?
Bender is buried in our backyard, which is nice to be able to visit him. I have this strange urge to dig him up, get him back, feel his fur, give him pats... make him warm.
I don't regret for a moment the large amount of dollars we spent on him just a year prior to his death for a torn cruciate ligament. (Knee issue.) I am so glad we had the money at the time to help him, and I doubt I would have coped putting a beautiful healthy dog to rest just for a bad knee. I'm happy we had a bit of extra time to spend with him.
RIP Bendy. I will miss you barking at rainbows and jet streams (!), hanging out in my studio with me, your feet tapping around the house and up and down the deck, greeting us when we get home. A family member said to me, "they are never with us long enough."
So true.