ODESSA FILES

The Time has Come...

Well, today was the day...

Riley, our long-loved pet, has been in our family his whole life. We got him when he was a puppy around April 1993. He was a golden retriever / black lab mix. He was the fluffiest golden I've seen, and the biggest paws on a golden I've seen. He has always been a good dog, and has never really been a pain. A few years ago, my mom got another dog, because she thought he was going to die. But he kept going for a few more years, and could have probably gone more, but he would not have been happy. I got a text from my mom saying that Riley had a stroke, and he was laying in his own pee because he could not move his back legs. My friend's mom came and picked me up and brought me to the vet. When we pulled up, it was my mom, dad, the vet, Erica, and Erica's assistant. They decided to put him down, and that we shouldn't let him struggle anymore.

So, Erica went and got the euthanasia to put him down, and injected the first one. My dad lost it, and had to walk away. I watched the liquid be forced into his body, and it was like somebody tearing chunks out of your heart. Then after a while, he was still awake, so they decided to give him another dose, but stayed with us. We waited for a while, after he fell asleep, because the darn dog would NOT let go!

Erica kept saying how much of a trouper he was, and how weird this was. The dog is 16 years old, great circulatory system...you'd think it'd just happen. NO. They went and got a third, and that's when his breathing started to lighten up, and the moment got intense. Then, the dreaded moment happend...

Riley Link

Golden Retriever / Black Lab

Born: April 1993

Died: September 2009

Age: 16 years old

We love you Riley, and you will be missed truly.

This Last Time...

So, I was thinking the other day, and pretty much everyday, about this year. This is my senior year, my last one. There is no more high school after this year. All the times walking down the hallways, laughing in class at teachers, hanging out with people next to their lockers... they will all soon be memories. This is going to be a hard year. Going through band camp, I got a whiff of how un-smoothly this year is going to flow. I pretty much want to cry just thinking about it, and seeing as how I am listening to sad music is not helping me :(

Band Camp

When you hear the word "attention," what do you think of? Some might say it is the act or faculty of attending, especially by directing the mind to an object. Others may say that attention is just being civil and courteous. Well, the attention that I am thinking about is when you stand straight up, shoulders relaxed, feet together, eyes up, horn parallel with the body, and elbows out, but hey, that's just me. I am in the marching band at my high school, and the season has only just begun. We got back from band camp yesterday, and since I am a senior this year, this band camp was my last. Being a senior has its privileges, and I love all of them. You get to tell people what to do, you are respected and looked highly upon, you get to cut in line for food and other events...it's basically amazing. I love band and band camp especially, but band camp this year was depressing, seeing as it was my last one. I teared up every day, then lost it the last night, which is skit night (the night where all classes - guys and girls separately - get together and put on a skit). The week kept getting worse and worse as each moment went by, and you thinking that this is the last time I'll be walking down this road, and I'll never be back here again. The things you are so used to, things you have done for four years, they are all coming to an end. I am dreading senior year, and school hasn't even started yet!! Band camp wasn't all that bad, though, don't get me wrong. It was a blast. The year has gone by so smoothly so far. We usually leave band camp with the opener and a chunk of the next tune. This year, we had the opener down before we even GOT to band camp, and we came home to our performance at our home field with our first 2.5 songs, and we have yet to learn the other 1.5 songs, which will be exciting. Our show this year is entitled "Hollywood." We open with a fanfare from the movie "E.T." then go into "Harry Potter," "Spiderman/Tales from the Crypt Theme," and we are closing with "Star War/E.T." I am PUMPED.