The Stainer......

Last night one of my best friends died.

This was a friend I have know all the time I have been here in EO.  This was a friend who has had many aliments thru the years but not once did he complain.  No matter where I saw him, on the street, the beach, the bar.....where ever it was, as soon as he saw me  - he came right up to me and I would be happy just to see him.  My friend was a dog.  His name was Stain.... and I loved him.

Stain has had several owners and at times just belonged to all of us.  For the past year he has been with Brett at Soda Mary's.  One year his hip was so bad I bought two thick horse blankets for him to sleep on - one for the house he lived at - the other for LowTide where he spent most of his day.  He has had Erlickia, a sickness brought on by ticks that can be fatal, more times than I can count.  He was very susceptible to all kinds of skin rashes and in general... had poor health.

The past June, Brett's niece arrived from Texas with her family and when they returned home, she stayed with her Uncle Brett.  Samantha took on the care of the Stainer.......regular baths, food everyday that included one egg that made a ton of difference in his coat, daily love and attention.  The whole time she was here was the best time of Stains' life - he looked good, he felt good - even had an extra high step when playing on the beach with the other dogs.

Last night.

Fantasy Football has come around again.  Last night, 7 pm was the scheduled time for the draft.  Instead of an automatic draft like we did last year, this year everyone would choose their own players.  I chose not to participate this year but was asked to be the monitor for the draft.  We began almost on time.  Locally there was Brett, Les, Kealy, Desirae, Ray and Sean - even tho Sean was not actually there, Des was prepared to provide his picks.  We had 3 computers set up on skype.  T-Bone checking in from New Orleans, Lisa Porter in LA and Bruce with Maui Jim calling from Hawaii.  10 players total.  I did the random name order draw by writing each player's name on a scrape piece of paper and drawing it from a pot.  Each player would be given 30 seconds to provide a draft pick with an additional 5 second warning before they were out.....

At the start of the 8th round I heard a cough from Stain. I was actually thinking......kennel cough - again!  At this point with 5 players intensely making their picks, with 4 others on line, me with the Draft order, a stop watch and 4 different sheets so I could keep track of all the picks - things were rolling along.  In fact, from the street, my guess is this could have been easily been taken for a very intense bookie operation.

I was sitting at the edge of the soda so I could see the computers and all players when I saw Stain walking from the back area towards me.  I could tell he was having a difficult time breathing.  He was walking like in slow motion....I called attention to Stain and everything stopped.  At first we were all just looking at him, then someone said something about the possibility of choking.  Ray went into action and picked Stain doing something similar to the Heimlick maneuver.  Brett was helping.  There was speculation about something being caught in his throat.  We have a local resident who works for the red cross and within a few minutes I was running down the street to get Don.  I was yelling out side his gate when he opened the door.  I quickly told him was was going on and he said there was nothing more that could be done other than what I had told him Ray was doing.  I ran back.  Ray was still working on Stain - blowing breath into his nose - but now he was on the floor - lifeless.  His eyes were open, it was hard to tell if he was still there.  There was nothing more I could do but sit there next to him, pet his ears and his face until I knew for sure...... he was gone.

There was a brief discussion about what to do.  The draft was cancelled and continued to this afternoon at 1 pm.  Brett made the decision to bury him on the beach near Jail House - a local surf spot closest to Soda Mary.  We all agreed it had to be then rather than waiting till morning.  We wrapped in a sheet and 6 of us - Me, Debbie who had come to the soda shortly before the incident with Stain began, Brett, Ray, Kealy and Desirae walked in the night to the beach.  We all participated in digging the hole, when he was laid down and the sheet removed.  I got down in the hole with him to make sure he was placed in a comfortable position.

Stain was truly one of my most favorite dogs ever.... and I have had a lot of dogs come into my life.  We had a very simple relationship - I loved him, he loved me.

Dogs are called man's best friend for good reason.  They are loyal, they love unconditionally.  You can leave them at home all day by themselves and they will happily greet you at the door.  When you are upset, they will lie there next to you, quiet - for they understand.  They do not complain about others or hold grudges.  They are grateful for whatever you give and find pleasure in the simplest things, like a coconut on the beach, running thru waves with their friends, a scratch behind the ears.

The Stainer........a sad loss for all of us here in Esterillos.