March | 2014 | Our family blog

Our extremely lovable buddy Greylock passed away suddenly just yesterday. It all happened very quickly and I think we are still in a little bit of shock, although we have a lot of memories to help sustain us and nearly eight fun years to look back on.

Just a few days ago Greylock started acting lethargic and bumping into furniture here and there. We took him in to the vet and they diagnosed him with an eye infection and sent us home with some antibiotics. By the next day he had gotten worse, but was still walking around and eating, by that evening Dave had taken him to a specialty vet so an opthamologist could look at him and they decided he should spend the night. We got a call at 4:30 in the morning that he was not doing well and that he really needed to see a neurologist, so Dave went to pick him up. When he got there, Greylock would not even walk and had to be wheeled out to our car on a cart, covered in blankets. We were both in shock to see him in this state. After meeting with a neurologist and discussing the possibility of a brain tumor, we had a CT scan done in the hopes that the tumor would be operable. It was not meant to be. The tumor was on top of his skull and was extensive and would have very likely returned in a short time. We agreed to give him some anti-inflammatory drugs to hopefully get him back up and walking, eating and make him more comfortable; and left the vet’s office around 11 am. We had hopes of a few more days with him and maybe some neighborhood walks. The vet called me around 4 pm to let me know that he was not breathing on his own. They had put him on a ventilator and said if we wanted to say good-bye, we better hurry. We rushed there to say good-bye and give our last hugs and pets. We hope he knows that we were there.

The vet told us that the bone tumor had likely been developing for months but just in the last few days it was putting too much pressure on his brain, so his vision and balance were impacted. In a way, I’m glad it was quick and hopefully painless for Greylock. But it gave us no time to prepare and definitely increased the “shock” factor.

There are too many wonderful memories of Greylock to record them all. Thinking back to when we first got him… it was definitely Dave who wanted Greylock, but I quickly fell in love with him. Dave only had to tell me one “little fib” to get me to agree to getting a Bernese Mountain Dog. I believe the words were, “Chris, they only shed two times a year.” I quickly learned that Greylock would shed constantly, and two times a year the shedding would be beyond excessive. But we got a super-expensive vacuum and moved on with many, many adventures with our buddy.

Some of our favorite memories include:

The time he ran onto a farm and went nose-to-nose with a bull that probably weighed almost 2,000 pounds. Greylock just sniffed him and then walked away. Later that same day a cardboard box fell a few feet in front of him, he was scared and ran away. A CARDBOARD BOX is scarier than a bull I guess.
In Blacksburg, he loved our neighbors and their dog, Carmel. When Greylock went out one morning, he snuck into their house through an open door and when our neighbor left for work, he got stuck in there.
Although it’s not very common for Bernese Mountain Dogs to swim, Greylock learned to and loved the water. But, I think if he had a choice he would just sit in a cold, shallow creek all day rather than use extra energy swimming in deep water.
When Dave left the front door open and I didn’t realize it for at least 30 minutes, Greylock could have gone anywhere… he just sat on the front porch.
Lately when Dave would travel for work, he would often sleep in the hallway between our room and Noah’s room. He had a fierce bark, so I never felt worried with him in the house.
Greylock was beyond tolerable of Noah and all the antics of a toddler and they even formed a little bond. One of Noah’s first words was “lock” and he would often point to Greylock and say “there’s Greylock.” Every morning Noah would go to the pantry and get Greylock’s medicine or a treat and want to give it to him. A little friendship that didn’t have time to develop.

I’m so thankful that we will have a very special occasion to celebrate in about a week. We need something else to focus on, but Greylock will always be in our hearts. He really was the best dog in the world.