Famous Seamus, Our Gentle Giant (A Tale of A Sentient Chocolate Lab)

 “To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though inasmuch as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.” ~Hermione Gingold

Similar to a few of my other difficult-to-write pieces: Living with Life-Threatening Food Allergies, A Story of Hope, Spinal Surgery in Mexico~From Wheelchair to Walking and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning~The Silent Killer, this story will be not just hard, but heartbreaking, for me to put into print.

But I must.

I owe it to Seamus, to our family and to our children to honor his memory and legacy, to memorialize this sentient being that was so much more than “just a dog”…to tell his story.

This is my tribute to you, Seamies…

Seamus, My 38th Birthday Gift!

Our three-year-old twins Mairead and Liam were just starting to sleep through the night when my husband Frank surprised me with the grandest 38th birthday gift of all–a chocolate lab puppy! Working as a firefighter and away from home for days and sometimes weeks on end, he wanted to bring a gentle dog with a big bark into our family.

Living in San Diego at the time, we traveled up to Bonsall for the four required visits, until at last, at 9-weeks old, we were able to bring Seamus home to begin his life as an O’Grady!                                      

Fate Smiled at Destiny

Seamus was from a litter of nine chocolate, roly poly, running, jumping, kissing, wagging balls of Labrador love. While it was difficult to pick just one, serendipity was at play as Seamus chose us, and we him.

He buried himself in between our twin toddler’s car seats on the way home, butt up, tail wagging incessantly, coming up for many slobbery kisses, only to return again quickly to his chosen position.

Although Liam and Mairead were a bit overwhelmed and cautious at first with this energetic, playful, new presence in their lives (that quickly became and surpassed their size!) the three of them became the best of buddies in no time at all.

Honoring our Irish heritage and love of traditional Celtic names, ‘Seamus‘ was ever-so-fitting for this handsome, destined-to-be addition to our O’Grady family. My dinner time calls would now be “Mairead…Liam, Seamus”…

They say you can approximate the adult size of a puppy by its paws. At 9 weeks old, Seamus’s were huge and by 6 months he was practically full grown, knocking over everything in his path with that big tail and chewing through all of our shoes one by one.

Famous Seamus Immigrates to Mexico

Seamus moved to Mexico with us when he was five years old, making the four-day drive South, drooling the entire car ride down on the back of Frank’s neck.

From San Diego to San Pancho and San Miguel de Allende to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle–with many Stateside and Baja trips in between–Seamus lived an amazingly full and adventurous life! He was a well-traveled dog with a 12-year life story that contained plenty of fun and shenanigans.

Our Gentle Giant

If you were ever lucky enough to be in the presence of this Gentle Giant, you would have known what a special, wise, kind soul he was…a noble gentleman, a comedian, a loyal playmate, a never-do-harm pup with a heart of gold. 

Born a water dog, Seamus’s favorite place in the world was the ocean. That, and being with his family…especially in the ocean.

Seamus Gets A Sister

Seamus wasn’t what one would call a lap dog (we never told him that), weighing in at 95 pounds of slobbery love! We not only wanted him to have a canine companion, but also for our children to experience the gift of adoption and the taking in of another sentient being–this time a much smaller one.

Seamus had been an “only dog” for the first seven years of his life and while he was initially excited to have what he thought was a temporary playdate in Luna, he went through a period of acting rather concerned about this new addition to our family, bringing me more treats and toys than the norm.

Seamus soon realized that Luna Love had a permanent status in The O’Grady Clan and that he now needed to share the attention, walks, toys and pats on the head.

He handled it like the noble gentleman he was and graciously welcomed Luna Love  into his family with lots of kisses, love barks and tail chasing around our yard!

What Happened?

Our sweet boy had battled skin ailments most his life–made worse in the jungle heat–and in the last year of his life had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism for which he was receiving treatment. In spite of those real challenges, he was a very happy, active boy…a sweet, lovable lab. While he was in his senior years at almost 12, he surprisingly did not have any joint or musculature issues. In fact, on one of our stateside trips, Seamus had a thorough check-up including a head to toe x-ray whereupon the vet stated that he had the bones of a 5-year-old dog! We were grateful to know that he wasn’t suffering from the hip issues that lots of large breed dogs normally do. 

On the Sunday morning before Valentine’s Day 2019, instead of being greeted by my normally goofy and happy pup, I found him sitting sideways at the top of our back door steps, clearly in discomfort and not interested in eating at all.

He looked up at me with sadness in his eyes, turned away and laid his head back down. My heart was in my throat, knowing that something was seriously wrong with my boy. 

I went outside to get a better look and saw that his left hind leg was swollen and retracted, unable to stand or walk unassisted.

What had happened???

Was he stung by a scorpion? Did he somehow fall, twist or break his leg? Was he bitten by a snake?

My mind went through all of the possibilities of what could have happened to Seamus, who just one day before seemed fine on his afternoon walk. While he was slowing down, he was still mobile and always up for some playtime at the beach.

Seeing my big, sweet boy in obvious distress and pain, trying to navigate those 95 pounds on three legs, was heartbreaking, to say the least.

We took Seamus to the vet, fearing that our day had arrived or was soon in sight, but Dr. Jorge said to give it a few days with anti-inflammatory injections and oral meds at home. And so we did, willing to do anything to give him some more time with us–as long as it was free from pain and suffering.

Dr. Jorge ruled out any venomous poisoning or bone break, conjecturing that Seamus might have tripped and fallen and therefore perhaps sprained his leg, but to me, it seemed to be much more serious.

A Mother’s Intuition

I knew in my heart that we likely weren’t going to come out of this one with dry eyes or intact hearts, even for as much as I wanted to deny the reality right in front of us.

Over the next several days, Seamus continued to suffer and decline. His breathing became labored, he lost interest in eating, could not relieve himself without assistance, and then began to hemorrhage.

We knew it was time. Time to do only what love propels you to do. Time to do the right thing. Time to do the humane thing. Time to release Seamus from the physical condition that now held his body captive in pain with no apparent hope of improvement.

In a “perfect world” or a “best case scenario”, maybe Seamus would have passed in his sleep. But life and death are not so neat and tidy and they certainly have their own timeline.

I believe that Seamus wanted us to each have our own individual and then our together time as a family to say our goodbyes, and we did.

Thank you, Seamus, for the gift of you…thank you for picking Valentine’s Day, a day of love and friendship, as your day to transition from one energy form to another. Thank you for the undeniable impact you have forever left on our hearts. 

Rainbow Bridge, Valentine’s Day 2019

I laid with Seamus throughout the day, in those last hours with my sweet boy in this realm between life and death.

I brought him warm, lavender infused towels from the dryer and sang, talked, laughed and cried with him–telling him all of the funny stories about his life as a 9-week-old puppy up to now, this very moment as my senior pup, hours before his rainbow crossing. I named all of the people and animals that loved him, each and every one by their first name. He looked at me with acknowledgment and understanding, hugged me, wrapped his paws around my arms, smiled, snorted and slobbered with all the energy he could muster up. Noble and gallant to the very end, my gentle giant.

I asked Frank to bring home the largest bone he could find, but Seamus was not interested in it at all.

We picked our children up after school, came home to get Seamus, and the five of us drove to the vet’s office for our 4:00 appointment, nothing but the sounds of stifled sniffles and Seamus’s panting audible in the car. 

To say that the next few hours, days, weeks, months, (and yes, now even years) were profoundly painful  for our family would be an understatement. We each lost a huge part of our hearts and lives that fateful day, knowing however that the memory and love of our Famous Seamus will always be present with us no matter where we go. 

From my husband Frank:

Our dog Seamus had to leave us this afternoon.
If there were ever a dog to represent unconditional love he was it.
He taught me many lessons regarding being happy in a moment. I do and will miss him mightily. 
I hear the ocean outside my window, and I feel his physical absence palpably…but, I know he is free from that pain he tolerated with no complaint and he is happy and at peace.
He grew up with my babies, he was one of our babies, he was part of our O’Grady Tribe. I am so grateful to be part of a family that stayed with him until the end, grateful to Dr. Jorge at Pets and Vets in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle for his sincere compassion and care and his tenderness not only with Seamus but with us. My hope is that we can all carry forward a bit some love, tolerance and compassion in this oftentimes hard world we live in. I have to say that I marvel at the strength of our children.
They were with Seamus until the end…laying with him on the floor of the vet’s office, giving him their hearts and love with hugs, petting and no shortage of tears until well after his heart stopped beating.
Seamus died literally surrounded with love and touches…and touches and love were what he lived for.
My family, Seamus included, give me reason to marvel every day.
It is beautiful outside and I will reflect on Seamus’s life, my children, Liam and Mairead, my amazing wife Katie and us as the family we are often throughout this day.
Peace and love to all of you.

Farewell our Famous Seamus, Our Gentle Giant

We had Seamus cremated and released his ashes into the ocean blue, his favorite playground.

On this particular day, in this particular spot out in the middle of Bahía de Banderas, there were both whales and dolphins gathered together, splashing and playing around. We knew Seamus would be in good company here.

Seamus, my precious Chocolate Lab and best furry gift ever, you will always be our Gentle Giant, our Guardian Angel, our Big Brown Bear…a part of our hearts and family forever. 

The Cycle of Life

The life and and death of our Famous Seamus is a powerful reminder of the transient nature of life, that all things have their time and place…their beginning and their end. Life is a precious and fragile gift.

That same puppy face that we saw the first day we met Seamus in 2007 was the very same puppy face we kissed goodbye as Seamus took his last breath on Valentine’s Day, 2019.

“Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk to me as if I were
beside you.
I loved you so…
‘Twas heaven here with you.”

~Isla Paschal Richardson

Love hurts, love extracts her price and stretches our hearts in unimaginable ways, changes the mosaic and trajectory of who we are.

Lucky are we to experience it in its fullest, most unconditional form. 

Feelings of profound sadness and loss don’t go away on their own, if ever at all. Expressing them with the written word is one of the ways in which I choose to process through them…to journey through the waves of deep mourning to arrive to where only memories of laughter, adventure, kisses and warm, furry snuggles remain…that is my hope. 

RIP My King. We Love You Forever and A Day…

 

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