Suzy McHale’s Diary: 2012
Events of note this year: Chris Perona’s sister, Sandrine, died on 3/7 of cancer; Sasha the dog euthanized on 3/12 aged 17 as he was ailing (drastic weight loss) and in pain.
July
Tuesday 3/7
Chris Perona’s sister, Sandy (Sandrine) died this morning at 6:20 a.m. of her lung cancer, which had spread thoughout her body and was untreatable. Her family were with her as she had been deteriorating over the last few months – she had been staying with Michele and family in Queensland since last year, so everyone was prepared for her death; not that it made things any easier, I suppose. She leaves behind two teenaged children, a boy and a girl. I had never spoken to her as I did not feel comfortable doing so; too late now. I am useless at expressing sympathy, so I haven’t said anything.
Sasha the dog had more teeth removed last Tuesday (his 3rd time for this). He is quite senile now – turns 17 later this year.
The newsagent at the nearby corner shops (Patterson-Tucker Roads) had its last trading day on Saturday 19 May, closing down to make way for 4 apartments (one of 2 milkbars there will also meet the same fate). It has been there for decades, so another familiar place has gone. I sincerely wish the property market would catastrophically collapse and greedy investors and developers lose their money.
November
Thursday 8/11
My last day of being 41. Birthday tomorrow is likely to be mundane as usual.
The newsagency at Southland (there for 21 years) and the Gloria Jeans coffee shop where we had been going daily for a few years both closed on Sunday 30 September due to a huge increase in shop rates by management – yet more familiar places gone. So much is disappearing it is disheartening. Houses and gardens continue to be demolished every week and replaced by ugly massive townhouses.
Sasha the dog has really deteriorated since I last wrote. He turned 17 on 2 September. He is wasting away (dropped from around 9 kg to 6 kg) and can barely function or walk. The worst is him making messes inside the house – the carpet is a stinking biohazard. I have been getting up during the night to check if he is awake and take him out – otherwise he will make a mess – so my sleep has been disrupted for months. We can’t go out anywhere for long because he can’t be left on his own for a few hours like he once could. He is totally senile so the dog he used to be has long vanished. I wish Dad would end this drawn-out misery and have him euthanized, but he seems to be too stupidly stubborn about the issue, and it is extremely stressful and frustrating. I am never going to own any pets if I live by myself – they are as much trouble as children.
December
Monday 3/12
Sasha the dog was put to sleep today around 4 p.m. at John the Vet; Dad finally decided to do this as Sasha was becoming very ill. It is upsetting but also a relief. I really don’t want any more pets.
Tuesday 4/12
Had a sleepless night due to distress about Sasha and various things. It has been a very stressful year with him and I wish he could have gone peacefully in his sleep, and kept his mental facilities. All his quirky habits and behavior gradually vanished over the last two years or so. He became unable to jump up on furniture (though he could still get down) or go outside by himself, stopped begging Mum for food, stopped having mad flings running around the house, lost much of his vision so his formerly lively eyes became blank, and generally became a shadow of his former self – almost an animated shell.
Dad left him at the vet’s for disposal; I am now wishing he had brought him home for burial. I asked John the Vet on his Facebook page what was done with pets’ bodies and the reply was: “There is a private company that collects bodies (mostly cats and dogs) from vet clinics across the entire greater Melbourne area, for burial on what used to be private farm land in Anakie, not far from Geelong.” Looking at Google Maps, the town is a long distance away, nearly 70 km! A lot further than I though he would be. I think the company might be Southern Cross Pet Services as they seem to fit the description.
Sunday 9/12
One week since what turned out to be Sasha’s last night on Earth. It has been a rather bleak time with everyone a bit subdued – there is a noticeable void where Sasha’s presence was. I don’t know if we will ever get another pet; the last year or two have been so exhausting and stressful with coping with his increasing dementia that the prospect can’t be considered at the moment. I did realize that there has always been a pet in my life since I was born (Tikky, Pippin, Sasha), except for a few months after Pippin was euthanized. I did not feel so upset after Pippin’s death as he was rather vicious at times. Both dogs were rather messed-up but Sasha was better-tempered.
Tuesday 11/12
Still missing Sasha.
I realized that we haven’t seen Bill and Pam Waters for a few years – the last mention I have of them in my diaries is for Wednesday 4 February 2009 when we went to the Foodstar restaurant in Frankston for Mum’s birthday. They seem to have detacted from us (I suspect it’s something to do with me?). Bill Waters was on Facebook for a while, but seems to have deleted his page, though he still has his personal website up as of this writing. [Note: linked to Archive.org page capture, as the domain name was taken over by a domain squatter; I also have my design for the site stored locally.