Good Bye to Brutus

Today we bid farewell to Brutus, John's very loyal Italian Mastiff (Cane Corso) of 11 1/2 years.

Brutus - 3 years old (February, 2001)

Brutus, Dawson & Verdell, August 2004

The picture above and the one below were both taken just 13 days ago on July 11th. Brutus didn't seem to be doing very well ~ I couldn't get him to move from his bed when I came downstairs. He was lethargic and lifeless and he appeared to be very "sunken" (if that makes any sense) which is why I took these pictures ... I'm not sure where John was, but I took them to show him how Brutus looked that morning. I remember thinking the pictures just didn't show how badly he seemed to be doing. He hardly moved all day and wouldn't eat a thing. But then he seemed to be back to himself the next day and we figured he was fine. Well, fine enough for a very old dog.

But when John came downstairs this morning, he found Brutus on his bed and he was already stiff. He died sometime during the night and I truly hope that he died peacefully in his sleep. John called me at work to give me the news and I was overcome with emotion. I couldn't believe how hard I cried! John was also surprised how I took the news. I guess I was just in shock, as it was very unexpected. He seemed just fine yesterday.

I looked on Snapfish and found some old pictures I had of Brutus. The above picture was taken on February 7th, 2004 (5 1/2 years ago). John and I were dating and Brutus was barely 6 years old. I can't get over how black his face was ... he turned gray so gradually that it was hard to notice how much he'd changed.

This picture was taken on July 3rd, 2005 (5 years ago). I'm pretty sure he was over 150 pounds in this picture.

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Brutus was a good dog who LOVED John more than anything. He was a loyal dog who would have done anything to protect John and our family. John and I complained about him often, but it was always for reasons that weren't his fault (he couldn't help it that he shed huge amounts of long black hair with each and every step!). He was often a difficult dog to live with because of his size and because we couldn't leave town unless a family member was willing to take care of him. But it was also nice having him around because we knew we would be safe from any intruders. We always felt safe with Brutus around. Although he'd be fierce with strangers, he was a big mush with us, always craving affection from us.

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John used to say that if Brutus really loved him, he'd die peacefully in his sleep so that John wouldn't have to go through the difficult emotional act of putting him to sleep. I guess this was Brutus's way of showing John just how much he loved him ...